Budget 2025 Live Updates: Markets Swing To Red 

The Nifty 50 (-0.05%) and BSE Sensex (-0.04%) has swung to red soon after market open. India VIX down 1.77%.

Click here to track how budget is moving the markets.

Budget 2025 Live Updates: Markets Open In Green

Indian benchmark indices open marginally higher on Saturday ahead of budget.

The Nifty 50 opened 0.09% higher above 23,520 while BSE Sensex gained 0.18% near 77,640.

Click here to track how budget is moving the markets.

The Budget A-Team: Sitharaman And Her Lieutenants

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and top government officials posed for their customery budget photo at the gate of the Ministry of Finance.

Budget 2025 Live Updates: Market Special Session

Indian stocks will start trading on the NSE and BSE in today’s special Budget session.

Budget 2025 Expectations Live: Middle Class And Lower-Income Groups’ Wishlist

Dhirendra Mahyavanshi, co-founder and CEO of Turtlemint, recommends the government strengthen the insurance sector, in line with the target of achieving ‘Insurance for All by 2047.’ Mahyavanshi says reconsidering the 18% GST on health insurance policies and tax relief measures for annuity and pension products could help advance financial inclusion and security.

Besides, financial literacy, retirement planning, and transparency in financial products are among the key focus areas this year. Financial advisor Viplav Majumdar, the director of Planyourworld.com, says by making financial education accessible to all, the government can provide people tools that are required to manage their money effectively, reduce dependency on intermediaries, and make long-term wealth.

Tax relief measures for lower- and middle-income households are anticipated, which could stimulate discretionary consumption, Bajaj Broking has said in a Budget 2025 expectations note.

Among the income tax relief for the middle class, the government is expected to raise the basic exemption limit under the new tax regime from Rs 3 lakh to Rs 5 lakh.

Read story here.

Budget 2025 Expectations Live: Calls For Private Participation In Capex

The National Monetisation Pipeline, launched in August 2021, has identified assets worth Rs 6 lakh crore for FY22-25, with asset monetisation for FY22-24 reaching Rs 3.86 lakh crore against the target of Rs 4.30 lakh crore.

For FY25, aggregate monetisation target is set at Rs 1.91 lakh crore.

However, despite these efforts, there remains a significant unmet demand for infrastructure development. The goal of Viksit Bharat necessitates innovative modes of financing and greater private participation. The government’s efforts need to be supplemented with increased capex and a willingness to adopt public-private partnerships to deliver infrastructure projects, the survey noted.

The private sector must reciprocate by improving its capacity to conceptualise projects, sharing risks and revenues, and demonstrating confidence in the government’s policies.

Parliament Budget Session Live: Lok Sabha Convenes At 11 AM

After the Economic Survey 2025 was tabled in the Lok Sabha on Friday, the house was adjourned till 11 am today.

Speaker Om Birla will convene the house and lawmakers will be present to hear Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s budget speech.

Budget 2025 Live Updates: Nirmala Sitharaman Arrives At North Block

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has arrived at the Ministrt of Finance building in Delhi’s North Block. She will present Union Budget 2025 at the Parliament today.

Top government officials are present at the Ministry.

(Image courtesy: ANI)

Budget 2025 Live Updates: Stock Recommendations Today

Marico Ltd., IndusInd Bank Ltd., Hero MotoCorp Ltd., Nestle India Ltd., Oil and Natural Gas Corp., and Vedanta Ltd. are among the top companies on brokerages’ radar on Saturday, after they reported their third-quarter earnings.

Kotak Securities, Morgan Stanley and Macquarie have done a deep dive into the Indian economy, after the 2024-2025 Economic Survey was released by India’s Chief Economic Advisor V. Anantha Nageswaran.

NDTV Profit tracks what analysts are saying about various stocks and sectors. Read all analyst calls to keep an eye out for on Saturday.

Budget 2025 Live Updates: Nirmala Sitharaman Leaves Her Residence

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman departed from her residence. She will present Union Budget 2025 at the Parliament today.

Budget 2025 Live Updates: Pankaj Chaudhary Departs For North Block

Pankaj Chaudhary, Minister of State, Finance, departed for North Block ahead of the budget announcement at 11:00 a.m.

“Everything will be before you by 12 pm…Have some patience. You will get to know everything…,” Chaudhary told reporters.

Budget 2025 Live Updates: JPMorgan Bullish On These Sectors

  • Financials: The overweight stocks in this sector include Kotak Mahindra Bank, ICICI Bank, State Bank of India, KFin Technologies, HDFC AMC, LIC Housing Finance, Shriram Finance, SBI Life, and Life Insurance Corp.

  • Industrials: The preferred stocks in this category are Larsen & Toubro and Hindustan Aeronautics.

  • Healthcare: The overweight allocation includes Sun Pharma, Lupin, Mankind, Max Healthcare, Rainbow Hospitals, and Fortis Healthcare.

  • Real Estate: Stocks in this sector with a favourable allocation are DLF, Godrej Properties, and Oberoi Realty.

  • Consumer: The brokerage is overweight with favoured stocks including Hindustan Unilever, Colgate, Marico, Mahindra & Mahindra, Jubilant FoodWorks, and MakeMyTrip.

  • Cement: UltraTech is the overweight stock in this sector.

  • Underweight Sectors: JPMorgan has an underweight stance on materials and passenger vehicles.

Budget 2025 Live Updates: Income Tax Relief On Cards?

Speculations are rife that some relief could be on the cards for the middle class, as the government might look to raise disposable income to address the lull in urban consumption.

There is anticipation over likely measures to be announced in the Union Budget 2025 that can further simplify the taxation norms. The government is also expected to separately roll out the Direct Tax Code — the new income tax bill which will be aimed at simplifying compliance.

For all the live updates related to changes and tweaks in the tax policies, follow NDTV Profit’s live coverage here.

Budget 2025 Live Updates: Sectors In Focus 

Railways: The Budget will likely sustain the healthy growth in Railway capital expenditure with priority on passenger mobility and safety systems, according to industry executives. Budget allocation for the Indian Railways has seen a steady rise over the years, with Rs 1.59 lakh crore allocated in fiscal 2023, marking a 35.5% growth, followed by Rs 2.4 lakh crore the next year, a significant 50.9% increase. For FY25, the allocation stands at Rs 2.52 lakh crore, reflecting a moderate 5.8% growth.

Housing: Amid a dip in GDP growth, the government could initiate measures to boost construction activity to foster job creation in this labour-intensive segment. Last year, affordable housing budget outlay rose 56% to Rs 84,700 crore. The sector now expects support to homebuyers by tweaking taxation and broadening the definition of affordable housing.

Defence: The budget is expected to focus heavily on the defence sector, with increased capital allocation, emphasis on indigenisation, domestic procurement, and initiatives to boost defence exports. Larger defence programmes are likely to drive higher orders in 2025. India’s defence spending has steadily risen, with Rs 6.21 lakh crore allocated in FY25, marking an 18% growth from Rs 5.94 lakh crore in FY24, itself higher by 13%.

Budget 2025 Live Updates: Market Performance On And After Budget

Check out how India stock markets performed on and after Union Budgets since 2020.

Budget 2025 Live Updates: All You Need To Know Going Into Trade

Ahead of budget on Friday, the Indian equity benchmark indices closed higher four days in a row but extended its monthly losing streak.

Foreign portfolio investors stayed net sellers of Indian equities for the 21st straight session on Friday as they sold stocks worth approximately Rs 1,189 crore. Domestic institutional investors were net buyers for the 32nd consecutive session.

Major earnings after market close were of IndusInd Bank, ONGC, Bandhan Bank, LIC Housing Finance, Inox Wind, among others.

Nifty February futures end 0.94% higher at a premium of 111 points and open interest rose 2.77%.

The Indian rupee closed flat against the US dollar on Friday at 86.62.

Read in detail here.

Budget 2025 Live Updates: Commercial LPG Price Cut

Oil marketing companies have revised the prices of commercial LPG gas cylinders ahead of the Union Budget 2025. The rate of 19 kg commercial LPG gas cylinders has been reduced by Rs 7 with effect from today, as per Indian Oil Corp website.

Check revised rates:

  • Delhi: Rs 1,797

  • Kolkata: Rs 1,907

  • Mumbai: Rs 1,749.5

  • Chennai: Rs 1,959.5

Budget 2025 Live Updates: FII Positions On Budget Day

Ahead of the Feb. 27 expiry, the value of outstanding positions — also called open interest in the derivatives segment — has increased for the FIIs in the Nifty futures. The FIIs’ long-to-short ratio in index futures remains at 11%:89%.

The FIIs turned sellers of index futures at Rs 209.2 crore and options at Rs 38,042.3 crore. They also sold stock options worth Rs 4,819.4 crore and bought futures worth Rs 361.7 crore.

Read story here.

Budget 2025 Live Updates: Mediapersons Assemble Outside Ministry of Finance

(Photo source: NDTV Profit)

(Photo source: NDTV Profit)

Live Updates: Recap – Key Budget 2024 Highlights

In the run-up to the Union Budget for the coming financial year, let’s take a look at the headliners from the last one.

The Union Budget 2024-25 had nine priorities for a ‘Viksit Bharat’: productivity and resilience in agriculture; employment and skilling; inclusive human resource development and social justice; manufacturing and services; urban development; energy security; infrastructure; innovation, research, and development; and next-generation reforms.

The document had four themes—employment, skilling, MSMEs, and the middle class.

However, the much-awaited marquee announcement from the speech was income tax reforms. The increase in the standard deduction limit and the change in income tax slabs were probably the most talked about parts of the last Union Budget.

Read Budget 2024 Recap Here.

Budget 2025 Live Updates: Trade Setup For Today

Nifty holds above 23,310 support, with resistance at 23,740-23,860. Analysts highlight strong bullish breakout signalling strength, but budget-day volatility remains key. The undertone stays positive, with 23,400 acting as crucial downside support, as per analysts.

From a technical perspective, Nifty crossed its short-term hurdle of 23,430 and formed a strong bullish candle on the daily chart, indicating strength, according to Hrishikesh Yedve, AVP technical and derivatives research at Asit C Mehta Investment Intermediates Ltd.

The Bank Nifty index settled positively at 49,587. Yedve noted the technical front; the index formed a green candle, indicating strength but is nearing a major hurdle at the 49,650-49,700 zone.

Read Budget day trade setup.

Budget 2025 Live Updates: NDA Govt’s Key Test

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the second full budget of the third NDA government. The alliance returned to power in the 2024 general elections.

The BJP fell short of a simple majority last year (it won only 240 seats compared to the majority mark of 272). In the July budget, the government laid major focus on employment generation through a new apprenticeship scheme — in response to the perceived public dissatisfaction over joblessness that had influence in the election.

This time, the public will be watching announcements related to welfare schemes, employment generation programmes and governance reforms.

Budget 2025 Live Updates: Key Macro Numbers In Charts

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present Modi 3.0’s second full year budget on Feb. 1, 2025.

At a time when consumption is weak, private consumption remains limited to pockets, and economic growth is slowing, investors will watch out for the government’s vision in it’s third term, its fiscal targeting and consolidation path, borrowing requirements and spending priorities.

Budget 2025 Live Updates: Compensation For Heavy Losses For OMCs

Analysts expect the Union Budget 2025 to address a major issue that has been hurting the profitability of oil marketing companies like Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum Corp., and Hindustan Petroleum Corp.

The OMCs have been facing losses on their LPG sales all of FY25 due to the ministry regulations. Macquarie and IIFL Securities’ analysts expect compensation for these losses to come through in the upcoming Budget.

Currently, LPG prices in India are subsidised to ensure affordability for domestic consumers. Oil companies like Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum not only produce their own LPG, but also import it from international sources and sell it domestically.

Read story here.

Live Updates: Five Things On CEA Nageswaran’s Mind Ahead Of Budget

Chief Economic Adviser V Anantha Nageswaran on Friday discussed the projected gross-domestic-product growth of 6.3–6.8% for the upcoming financial year, influenced by global risks and trade uncertainties.

Global factors, such as potential spillover from global financial markets and increased uncertainty in trade and investment flows, are significant considerations in the growth projection, the CEA said in a conversation with NDTV Profit.

The growth projections align with those of multilateral and private sector agencies.

Read the five highlights from the discussion here.

Budget 2025 Live Updates: Stock Market Open Today

The Indian stock market will remain open for trading on Saturday. NSE and BSE will allow trading on the exchanges as per their usual time — 9:15 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The currency and bond market will be closed. The Budget speech starts at 11:00 a.m.

Budget 2025 Live Updates: Big Day Is Here

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to present the NDA government’s second full Union Budget for its third term. Lok Sabha will convene at 11 a.m. for the Budget speech. The Economic Survey 2025 projects FY26 GDP growth in the range of 6.3-6.8% and inflation to be under control. Key decisions on the Budget are expected to include changes in income tax rates, divestment plans, and further fiscal consolidation.

. Read more on Budget by NDTV Profit.Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to present the NDA government’s second full Union Budget of its third term. The speech will begin at 11 a.m. Track all the latest updates here.  Read MoreBudget, Economy & Finance, Business, Notifications, Markets 

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