NEW DELHI: Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, presenting the Union Budget 2025-26 on Saturday, introduced a vital enhance in allocations for girls and little one development packages, together with key aid measures for senior residents and susceptible communities.
Addressing issues over previous National Savings Scheme (NSS) accounts, Sitharaman introduced that withdrawals from these accounts, which now not accrue curiosity, will likely be exempt from taxation for people making withdrawals on or after August 29, 2024.
She additionally proposed extending related remedy to NPS Vatsalya accounts, making certain they obtain the identical advantages as common NPS accounts, inside present limits.
“It is proposed to extend the tax benefits available to the National Pension Scheme (NPS) under sub-section (1B) of section 80CCD of the Income-tax Act, 1961 to the contributions made to the NPS Vatsalya accounts, as applicable,” FM Sitharaman mentioned.
The ministry of girls and little one development (WCD) has been allotted Rs 26,889.69 crore, marking a rise from the Rs 23,182.98 crore revised estimate for 2024-25.
The largest share—Rs 21,960 crore—has been put aside for Saksham Anganwadi and POSHAN 2.0, a program aimed toward combating malnutrition and strengthening early childhood care. This is a rise from Rs 20,070.90 crore within the earlier 12 months’s finances.
“These programs provide nutritional support to over 8 crore children, 1 crore pregnant and lactating women, and 20 lakh adolescent girls across aspirational districts and the Northeast region,” Sitharaman mentioned, including that value norms for these packages will likely be enhanced accordingly.
Mission Vatsalya, the federal government’s flagship little one safety scheme, has seen its finances rise to Rs 1,500 crore, up from Rs 1,391 crore in 2024-25. The program helps institutional and family-based take care of susceptible kids by means of sponsorships, foster care, adoption, and emergency outreach providers such as childline and the kid monitoring system.
For girls’s empowerment, Mission Shakti has acquired Rs 3,150 crore, masking two main parts: Sambal (Rs 629 crore), which incorporates Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, One Stop Centres, Women’s Helpline, and Mahila Police Volunteers, and Samarthya (Rs 2,521 crore), which covers initiatives like Swadhar Greh for ladies in misery, the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY), Working Women’s Hostels, and the National Creche Scheme.
The Nirbhaya Fund, which funds security and safety initiatives for ladies, has been allotted Rs 30 crore.
The finances additionally consists of focused funding for tribal communities, with Rs 120 crore allotted to the Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan (PM JANMAN) to help 75 Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups.
The elevated allocations to key packages sign to strengthen early childhood care, enhance vitamin, and improve safety for susceptible teams throughout the nation.
