March 5th 2025.
On Wednesday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman expressed the government's dedication to promoting global economic partnerships, utilizing technology to strengthen traditional sectors, and greatly increasing India's potential for exports. Speaking at a post-budget webinar with a focus on 'Regulatory, Investment, And Ease Of Doing Business Reforms,' she announced the upcoming General Vishwas Bill 2.0, which aims to decriminalize more than 100 provisions in various laws. This move will simplify processes for businesses, as the minister emphasized the government's commitment to timely implementation of all budget announcements for the year 2025-26.
Sitharaman highlighted the government's focus on capital expenditure and how it complements the pathway for reforms, ultimately driving economic growth. For the year 2025-26, the proposed total effective capex is 15.48 lakh crores, which is 4.3 per cent of the GDP. Of this, 11.21 lakh crore is allocated as core capital expenditure by the Centre, which is 3.1 per cent of the GDP. This significant investment in infrastructure development has already created jobs, strengthened industries, and paved the way for private sector participation in India's growth story.
The Finance Minister also mentioned that budget announcements for 2024-25, such as the increase in the limit under MUDRA loans from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 20 lakh and the introduction of a new MSME Credit assessment model, have already been implemented. As a result, 11 Public Sector Banks have extended it to existing customers, and seven Banks have also extended it to new ones. Additionally, 21 new SIDBI branches have been opened in MSME clusters, in line with the budget announcement for 2024-25.
In terms of the PM Internship scheme, which was announced in the budget of 2024-25, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs has already implemented a pilot project. This has created over 1.25 lakh internship opportunities in top companies, with over 6 lakh applicants. The government is committed to reducing regulatory burdens and promoting trust-based governance to improve the ease of doing business. By decriminalizing business-related laws, legal risks are reduced, allowing industries to operate with greater confidence.
Sitharaman also stressed the importance of a robust manufacturing sector, free from unnecessary regulatory bottlenecks, which will attract both domestic and foreign investments, driving economic growth and positioning India as a trusted global player. Since 2014, the government has removed over 42,000 compliances and decriminalized over 3700 legal provisions. In the Jan Vishwas Act 2023, more than 180 legal provisions were decriminalized.
In the Thematic session of the post-budget webinar, M. Nagaraju, Secretary of the Department of Financial Services, shared that under the MUDRA Scheme, Rs 33 lakh crore loan amount has been sanctioned. Additionally, under the Stand-Up India initiative, the department has sanctioned Rs 59,000 crore to 2.62 lakh accounts. Under the PM SVANidhi scheme, Rs 14,000 crore has been sanctioned across 99 lakh accounts.
The Finance Minister expressed her appreciation for the stakeholders from various ministries, including Finance Department, Industry policy, internal trade, corporate affairs regulators, state governments, public sector banks, insurance companies, SIDBI, NABARD, and industry associations, who participated in Wednesday's webinar. She acknowledged the valuable inputs received during the discussion, which will be carefully considered to align strategies, address implementation challenges, and ensure efficient translation of budgetary announcements into tangible actions.
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