'Schemes may seem grand-sounding but...': Congress' initial reaction to Sitharaman's Budget 2025

Congress MP Karti Chidambaram said, "The Finance Minister’s speech is a small synopsis of the budget. Unless one reads the budget in detail, one can’t make a clear assessment of it.

"Many schemes have been announced, but they'll be fulfilled well after the term of this House, i.e., 2029. So, one must understand whether they are really new schemes or they are adding on to the old schemes, and also we need to know what the status of the old schemes is."

He added, "The announced schemes may seem grand-sounding, but what happened to similar grand-sounding schemes of the previous budgets?"

Muting the critics and opposition parties, Sitharaman announced zero tax till the income of Rs. 12 lakh per year under the new tax regime in a massive relief to the middle class.

Sitharaman on Friday announced that the new Income Tax bill will be introduced next week.

Sitharaman said the new bill will be a lot simpler for the taxpayers to understand.

"I am happy to inform, with the new income tax bill, we will carry forward the spirit of 'nyay'. The new bill will be clear and direct in text… it will be simple to understand for taxpayers, leading to reduced litigation," said the finance minister in parliament.

The 1961 Act, which is about imposing direct tax as well as security transactions, gifts and wealth, comprises 23 chapters and 298 sections.

The Direct Tax Code, which was given a glimpse by Sitharaman last year during the budget, is aimed at simplifying the tax system and reducing the page count.