This after Sitharaman wore a Madhubani distraction to the Lok Sabha on February 1 and declared Rs 12 lakh and below annual salary tax-free. Was this what Prime Minister Modi had negotiated with the goddess of wealth and prosperity, a rebate in income tax and a largesse for the middle classes? The Budget is also very Bihar-friendly; something to do with "crutches!"

But the distraction was enough to make some opposition MPs to stage a walkout the minute Sitharaman rose to speak. Did Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman look "tired and beat" at the end of her "boring" speech? Neither Rajya Sabha MP Sonia Gandhi nor Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi were around to take a dig at Nirmala Sitharaman. The devil was there somewhere in the details!

No income tax payable up to Rs 12 lakh – i.e., up to Rs 12.75 lakh including standard deductions – will be part of the new tax regime. To get to the devil use a calculator! And if Sitharaman is ‘Maa Lakshmi’ that, too, is in the details. On January 31, Prime Minister Narendra Modi referred to 'Maa Lakshmi' and sought her blessings on behalf of the "poor and middle classes." On February 1, Sitharaman read out her 2025 Budget Speech.

Fortunately, no Congress leader labelled her speech “boring” or referred to Sitharaman as “O! Poor thing!” Sitharaman's Budget, she pulled out from a tablet sheathed in a ‘bright red bahikhata.’ Nobody disturbed her till she was finished with stirring the Opposition's pot.

Sitharaman looked benign and erudite with the silver-grey hair and in her cream-colour Madhubani Art sari, intricately painted keeping her in mind by Padma awardee and Madhubani Art expert Dulari, who had gifted the nine-yards to her with the request that the she wear it when she reads out her Budget Speech.

Whoever knew Nirmala Sitharaman is a collector of saris? There are now eight of them and she wouldn't part with any of them for all the money in the RBI vault. Eight budgets, eight saris! How’s that for a record?

The Union Finance Minister’s grey hair didn't come from an overdose of Vitamin 'D', it is the outcome of hard work, eight budgets on a trot with Budget 2025 the best of the lot! There was loud cheering and enthusiastic thumping of desks in the Lok Sabha.

Sitharaman announced fresh tax slabs, starting with nil tax on income up to Rs 4 lakh. Between Rs 4 and Rs 8 lakh, five percent. Between Rs 8 and Rs 12 lakh, 10 percent. Between Rs 12 lakh and Rs 16 lakh, 15 percent. Between Rs 16 lakh and Rs 20 lakh, 20 percent. Between Rs 20 lakh and Rs 24 lakh, 25 percent and above Rs 24 lakh, 30 percent.

Sitharaman’s blessings include "substantially reduced tax burden on the middle class, leaving more money in their pockets", which in turn will considerably boost household consumption, savings, and investment. Prime Minister Narendra Modi wasn’t bluffing when he said goddess 'Maa Lakshmi' will keep the middle-classes in her mind.

There were other people-friendly offerings in Budget 2025 including for senior citizens. Sitharaman proposed doubling the deadline to file updated tax returns to four years. A new direct tax code will be introduced next week. The goal is to make income tax laws simpler to read and understand. The number of pages of the I-T Act of 1961 will be cut by a staggering 60 percent. To get an idea, picture 23 chapters and 298 sections, which is the I-T Act of 1961.

Is this the Trump effect on Prime Minister Modi? Maybe yes, maybe not. President Trump is definitely compelling Prime Minister Modi to "do more". Trump’s tariffs can hit any country, any time. Trump is nobody’s fool, Modi can expect that much from “my friend Trump!”

Will Budget 2025 impact the Delhi Assembly elections 2025? 'Yes'; especially the up to Rs 12 lakh no tax regime. Delhi has a huge number of salaried voters drawing high salaries and they have been expecting this much at least from Prime Minister Modi through eight budgets in eight years. Finally, the Modi government has delivered. Nirmala Sitharaman's eighth budget will definitely leave its mark on the Delhi assembly election results. (IPA Service)