Key Highlights of Union Budget 2025:
- 36 cancer and rare disease drugs exempted from Basic Customs Duty.
- Relief on essential commodities like medicines, motorcycles, and electronic components.
- Hike in duties on knitted fabrics and interactive flat panel displays.
Modi Government’s Second Full Budget: Key Takeaways
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget 2025-26, marking her eighth consecutive budget under the Modi 3.0 government. This year’s budget emphasizes agriculture, manufacturing, employment, MSMEs, rural development, and innovation.
“This budget aims to work on transformative reforms,” Sitharaman said in her budget speech.
What Got Cheaper?
Healthcare & Medicines
- Exemption on 36 cancer and rare disease medicines from Basic Customs Duty.
- Basic Customs Duty exemption on 37 additional medicines.
Food & Agriculture
- Reduction in Basic Customs Duty on fish Pasteurian from 30% to 5%.
- Fish hydrolysate for aquatic feed now taxed at 5% instead of 15%.
Manufacturing & Technology
Basic Customs Duty reduced on:
- Synthetic flavouring essences & odoriferous substances (100% to 20%).
- Chemical compounds with pyrimidine or piperazine rings (10% to 7.5%).
- Ethernet switches (carrier-grade) (20% to 10%). Raw materials for wired headsets, microphones, USB cables are now duty-free.
- Basic Customs Duty exemption extended for shipbuilding raw materials for another 10 years.
Energy & Sustainability
- Exemption on cobalt products, LED, zinc, lithium-ion battery scrap, and 12 critical minerals to boost clean energy.
Automobiles
- Motorcycles (engine ≤ 1600 CC): Duty reduced from 50% to 40%.
- High-end bikes (engine > 1600 CC): Duty cut from 50% to 30%.
Textile & Leather Industry
- Export duty on crust leather reduced from 20% to zero.
- Wet blue leather fully exempted from Basic Customs Duty.
What Got Costlier?
- Knitted fabrics (under specified tariff items): Duty increased to 20% or ₹115/kg, whichever is higher.
- Interactive flat panel displays: Duty raised from 10% to 20% to address inverted duty structure.
Comparison with Budget 2024
Last year, the government had:
- Reduced customs duties on mobile phones, gold, silver, and copper.
- Increased duties on non-biodegradable plastics (25%) and telecom equipment (10% to 15%).
- Exempted three cancer treatment medicines from Basic Customs Duty.
Conclusion: Relief for Consumers, Focus on Growth
Budget 2025 brings relief for healthcare, technology, and manufacturing sectors while maintaining protectionist policies in textiles and consumer electronics. The government’s push towards domestic production, healthcare affordability, and clean energy adoption is evident in these reforms.
