As 2025 comes to an end, it is time to assess how far the promises made during the Union Budget 2025 have progressed from announcement to implementation. Within three quarters of FY26, several headline reforms have been rolled out, while others remain under approval, pilot or early rollout stages.
Here is a status check on key announcements from Budget 2025.
New Income Tax Bill (Income-Tax Act, 2025): The Union Budget 2025 announced a complete overhaul of India’s direct tax law, replacing the Income-Tax Act, 1961. The new Act was positioned as a consolidation and simplification exercise, reducing sections to about 536 and schedules to 16 from around 819 sections earlier.
The legislation has been fully completed. It received Presidential assent on August 21, 2025, and will come into force from April 1, 2026, corresponding to FY27.
FDI in insurance raised to 100 per cent: The Budget proposed raising foreign direct investment in insurance companies from 74 per cent to 100 per cent, subject to the condition that the entire premium is invested in India.
This proposal has been fully implemented, with Parliament passing the amendment bill on December 17, enabling full foreign ownership in the insurance sector.
PM SVANidhi scheme revamp: The revamp of the PM SVANidhi scheme aimed to expand credit access for street vendors through higher loan tranches and UPI-linked RuPay credit cards with a ₹30,000 limit.
The revamp has been completed. Phase 2 was approved in August 2025. Around 1.1 million vendors are set to receive RuPay credit cards, while enhanced loan tranches of ₹15,000, ₹25,000 and ₹50,000 have been rolled out.
Gyan Bharatam Mission: The Gyan Bharatam Mission was announced to survey, document and conserve India’s manuscript heritage, with a target of preserving 10 million manuscripts. It involved restructuring the National Manuscripts Mission with a FY26 allocation of ₹60 crore.
The mission was formally launched in September at the Gyan Bharatam International Conference in New Delhi, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurating its digital portal.
National Manufacturing Mission: The Budget announced a new National Manufacturing Mission under the Make in India framework, covering small and medium enterprises as well as large industries.
It targeted raising manufacturing’s GDP share to 25 per cent by 2030-35 (from around 17 per cent), with a ₹10,000 crore outlay focused on clean-tech ecosystems like solar PV cells, EV batteries, electrolysers, wind turbines, and grid batteries.
The mission is currently in progress. A panel led by the NITI Aayog CEO was constituted in April 2025 to draft the mission blueprint, and stakeholder consultations are ongoing.
Atal Tinkering Labs: The government announced the establishment of 50,000 new Atal Tinkering Labs (ATLs) in schools over five years to strengthen innovation and STEM education.
The initiative is in progress. As of December, about 10,000 ATLs are operational. The expansion is being carried out under Atal Innovation Mission 2.0, with the plan reaffirmed in Parliament.
Centre of Excellence in AI for education: A ₹500 crore Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Artificial Intelligence for education was announced to develop AI tools for personalised learning, skill enhancement, adaptive curriculum, and assessments, aligning with NEP 2020. It builds on three prior AI CoEs (agriculture, health, sustainable cities launched in 2023-24), with the education CoE in advanced planning but not yet fully operational as of December.
Gig workers welfare measures: The Budget announced welfare measures for gig workers including unique identity cards linked to e-Shram portal registration, healthcare coverage under PM Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY) for nearly 10 million workers, and formal recognition within the labour framework. These build on the Code on Social Security 2020 (now effective from November 21 through the new labour codes implementation), defining gig/platform workers and aggregators’ obligations like 1-2 per cent turnover contributions (capped at 5 per cent) for social security funds.
By November, around 500,000 gig workers had registered on e-Shram. Labour codes enabling social security benefits came into effect on November 21, 2025, and the health coverage rollout is ongoing.
₹1 trillion Urban Challenge Fund: The Urban Challenge Fund was announced to support cities as growth hubs, focusing on redevelopment and infrastructure.
The fund is in progress. An initial ₹10,000 crore allocation has been made for FY26, with guidelines finalised in September and a ₹300 crore pilot launched for select cities.
Nuclear Energy Mission for small modular reactors: The Budget announced a ₹20,000 crore Nuclear Energy Mission to support R&D for Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), targeting the deployment of five indigenous SMRs by 2033.
The mission is currently in progress. The Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Bill, 2025 replaced the Atomic Energy Act, 1962 and Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage (CLND) Act, 2010, enabling private sector participation in nuclear power while maintaining government control over strategic activities. Parliament passed the Bill in December and now it awaits Presidential assent to become law.
Modified UDAN scheme: The modified UDAN scheme aims to expand regional air connectivity by adding 120 new destinations by 2027 and carrying about 40 million additional passengers over 10 years.
The framework is under formulation. The government has confirmed UDAN’s extension beyond 2027, with ₹540 crore allocated for FY26, though no new routes have been operationalised yet.
SWAMIH Fund 2: SWAMIH Fund 2 was announced as a ₹15,000 crore blended finance fund to complete 100,000 stalled housing units, building on the first fund’s delivery of 50,000 homes.
The fund remains in progress with its structure being finalised under SBICAP Ventures. However, no disbursements have begun yet, with financing expected to start after capital mobilisation.
Private R&D and innovation initiative: The Budget announced a ₹1 trillion research and innovation fund to boost private-sector R&D, with an initial ₹20,000 crore allocation.
The Cabinet approved the scheme in July and the fund is being operationalised under the National Research Foundation, with deployment mechanisms under development.
Jan Vishwas Bill 2.0: The Bill proposed decriminalising over 100 minor business offences across multiple laws to reduce compliance burdens.
The Bill was introduced in Parliament in August and referred to a Select Committee. The review process is ongoing, with implementation expected in 2026.
