For the eighth consecutive year, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented India’s Union Budget for the 2025-26 financial year on February 1.
In her Budget 2025 speech, Sitharaman announced a ‘Focus Product Scheme’ for the Footwear and Leather sectors. The initiative aims to enhance productivity, quality, and competitiveness in these industries, creating 22 lakh jobs and driving a turnover of Rs 4 lakh crore.
The scheme is expected to boost exports by over Rs 1.1 lakh crore. It will also support design capacity, component manufacturing, and machinery for non-leather quality footwear production, she said.
She also announced the creation of an Export Promotion Mission to improve export credit, provide cross-border factoring support, and help MSMEs deal with non-tariff barriers in international markets.
Anupam Mittal, Founder & CEO at People Group and an investor in D2C startups wrote in a LinkedIn post: “More disposable income = More consumption = More economic growth. You don’t build an economy by making people feel gareeb. You build it by making them wealthier.”
Key Takeaways for Retail
Big boost for leather and footwear industry: The government is set to implement specific measures to enhance productivity, quality, and competitiveness of India’s footwear and leather sector. A focused product scheme will be launched to support design capacity, component manufacturing, and machinery for non-leather footwear, alongside leather-based products. This initiative is expected to generate Rs 400 crore in revenue.
Rs 2 Crore Loan for Women, SC/ST Entrepreneurs: The government announced a new scheme providing considerable funding for business owners – term loans up to Rs 2 crore for first-time borrowers, particularly, especially women and SC/ST communities, aiming to foster inclusive economic growth and reduce barriers to financing for these groups. The scheme aims to speed up the slow process of bridging the gender gap in India.
National Manufacturing Mission to further Make In India: Manufacturing mission to boost make in India across all industry sizes. A new manufacturing mission under the Make in India initiative will support small, medium, and large industries through comprehensive policy backing and a detailed framework. This will aim to improve domestic value addition and build India’s ecosystem for solar PV cells, EV batteries, motors and controllers, electrolysers, wind turbines, very high voltage transmission equipment, and grid-scale batteries.
Budget Boosts Startup Fundraising Outlook: Startups incorporated before April 1, 2030 will be able to receive the tax exemption benefits. Besides, the government also enhanced the credit guarantee cover for startups operating in 27 focus sectors important for Atmanirbhar Bharat from the erstwhile Rs 10 crore to Rs 20 crore.