New Delhi [India], March 27 (ANI): On Thursday, parliament gave approval to the
Finance Bill
, 2025, with
Rajya Sabha
handing it back to Lok Sabha, which had approved the legislation on March 25.

Rajya Sabha
Also submitted the Appropriation Bill (3). The submission of the
Finance Bill
indicates the conclusion of the budget process, which began on February 1 following the presentation of the union budget.

In response, Sitharaman countered the accusations made by opposition leaders towards the government and additionally mentioned the comments from the previous Finance Minister Phexdigest
صند
Chidambaram
.

She dismissed claims of bias toward regions governed by political factions that oppose her party in the legislative assembly.

For Tamil Nadu, ₹58,021 crore has been allocated as tax devolution for the fiscal year 2025-26. The tax devolution to Tamil Nadu from 2004-14 amounted to ₹94,971 crore. In contrast, between 2014-24, this figure rose to ₹2,92,013 crore—a significant rise of 207%. Additionally, grants-in-aid received from the Government of India were ₹57,925 crore during 2004-14. This increased substantially to ₹2,55,875 crore from 2014-24, marking an impressive surge of 342%, according to Sitharaman.

She mentioned that Kerala received Rs. 1.57 lakh crore during the ten-year span from 2014 to 2024, marking a rise of 239% compared to the UPA era (2004-14), when they got Rs. 46,300 crore.

“Is Kerala receiving preferential treatment or facing discrimination? The grants-in-aid have increased by an astounding 509%. Between 2004-14, they were allocated Rs. 25,630 crore. From 2014-24, this jumped to Rs. 1.56 lakh crore. Additionally, thanks largely to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s efforts, after the pandemic hit and states had to accelerate economic recovery, he ensured special support through zero-interest loans for state capital expenditures over fifty years. Kerala was granted Rs. 2,715 crore with such favorable terms. Notably, this significant aid package did not get much mention from the Finance Commission. Under Prime Minister Modi’s administration, Kerala has never experienced greater backing,” she stated.

Regarding the measures implemented by the government for the middle class, Sitharaman stated that Prime Minister Modi had authorized the creation of the 8th Central Pay Commission (CPC) in January 2025. This commission was tasked with updating the wages and perks of central government workers.
pension
ers.

She mentioned that everything related to the Central Government was covered.
pension
Retirees who had stepped down prior to January 1, 2016, are currently receiving
pension
on par with employees who retired after January 1, 2016.

Taking into account the suggestions put forth by the 6th CPC, a differentiation was established between
pension
It is unavoidable, and this is what is being introduced as an amendment and validated through her statement.

“The
validation rules
Do not modify or adjust anything that currently exists.
pension
So fix the existing civil pensioners’ issues at this current stage.
validation rules
Additionally, this should not impact defence pensioners as they fall under distinct regulations. This is not an amendment to any
pension
However, these rules or instructions merely serve as a restatement effective from June 1, 1972—the day when the CCS (Pension) Rules came into being. As mentioned, the 6th Central Pay Commission drew a clear line between employees who retired before January 1, 2006, and those retiring after this date,” she stated.

The previous government (Congress-led UPA) approved the suggestions from the 6th Central Pay Commission and determined that a difference would be made between
pension
Regarding the cutoff date of January 1, 2006, the 7th Central Pay Commission has achieved parity for pensioners both before and after January 1, 2016. I would like to emphasize once more that this merely validates current regulations. It neither alters nor changes existing civil or defense procedures.
pension
,” she added.

Sitharaman also hit back at Trinamool Congress member Sagarika Ghose over her criticism of the BJP-led government.

“People who doubt the effectiveness of ‘Achhe Din’ actually belong to a party that raised the banner of ‘Maa…Maati…Maanush,’ yet failed to deliver for the citizens. In West Bengal, the ‘Tola Baazi’ group obstructs beneficial policies from reaching the public. This ‘Tola Baazi’ acts as an enormous iron sieve,” according to Sitharaman.

“‘Achhe Din’ means relentlessly serving our country with the aim of benefiting ordinary citizens. Our guiding principle is: ‘Body Dedicated, Mind Dedicated, This Life Devoted to the Nation.’ We are ‘Dedicated’ to achieving ‘Achhe Din,’” she said additionally.

Sitharaman stated that rather than posing questions with a politically skewed viewpoint, the Trinamool Congress members ought to inquire about ordinary people they encounter, who have personally gained from governmental programs.

“Query 550 million Indians; particularly those women who gained access to bank accounts through the Jan Dhan Yojana initiative. Have good days arrived or not? Indeed they have! Inquire about four million families who benefited from the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana program. They would affirm that ‘good times are here’. Seek out over twelve million rural homes now equipped with dignified sanitation facilities due to the Swachh Bharat Mission – do these individuals feel their days are improving? Check with another twelve million rural residences provided with piped water via the Jal Jeevan Mission – could this signify better days for them too? Consult ten million households freed from smoky kitchen conditions thanks to gas connections under the Prime Minister Ujjwala Yojana scheme – wouldn’t you agree things seem brighter? And ask recipients purchasing cost-effective medications across 15,300 low-cost drug stores known as Jan Aushadhi Kendras where prices range between fifty to eighty percent lower compared to market rates – surely such developments point towards improved circumstances,” she stated.

Inquire among the 37 crore individuals shielded by Ayushman Bharat’s INR 5 lakh yearly healthcare coverage — ‘Are Good Days Here?’ Over 68 lakh street vendors have received credit assistance through PM SVANidhi; these recipients are backed by both the Prime Minister and a sovereign guarantee. No collateral like property deeds, documents, or jewelry is required from them — ‘Are Good Days Here?’ Pose this question to more than 50 crore beneficiaries who obtained loans via the PM MUDRA scheme — ‘Good Times Are Coming?’
However, good days still elude certain segments of society where governance equates to corruption and backroom dealings,” she concluded.

Referring to
Chidambaram
Regarding digital transactions and the Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), her remarks highlighted how actions demonstrate what the government has implemented regarding DPI.

“Therefore, the issues raised by the previous finance minister have been thoroughly resolved. Regarding his concerns about the fiscal deficit, I am confident that he will recognize how we’ve outlined our approach for both the short-term and mid-term periods. We remain committed to achieving this as we always have. For the upcoming year, the fiscal deficit is expected to stay under 4.5%,” she stated.

Regarding the income tax relief in the union budget, she mentioned that this was one of the key issues for which numerous members personally approached her to express their gratitude. Sitharaman stated that the Prime Minister advised her that the government must respect the Indian taxpayers.

“I am grateful to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who assigned me this responsibility well ahead of the commencement of budget preparations and instructed me to look into ways to assist the middle class and taxpayers. I would like to acknowledge my appreciation for the whole Finance Ministry team; together we deliberated extensively on potential measures. After presenting our proposed tax reforms to the Prime Minister, he promptly approved them and emphasized the importance of honoring Indian taxpayers. This was an occasion for us to demonstrate our reverence for these contributors. Consequently, we decided to raise the exemption limit to ₹12 lakhs so that individuals earning below this amount wouldn’t be required to pay income tax,” she stated.

The minister mentioned that numerous exporters encountered challenges and asked for additional time.

“Responding to this, we extended the period from six months to one year. We stated that if an item was imported without duties and the exporter plans to eventually export it, they would now have a complete year to meet all requirements within that timeframe,” she explained.

Multiple participants engaged in the discussion. (ANI)