(1) BJP returns to power in Delhi after 26 years
The BJP on Saturday (February 8, 2025) returned to power in Delhi after more than 26 years to sweep away the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party with a two-thirds majority on the back of a hyper localised campaign.
Also read: Delhi govt formation LIVE
Adding to the ignominy of the AAP that was battling 10 years of anti-incumbency was the shocking defeat of former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal himself and other top leaders including his close aide and former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, Somnath Bharti and Saurabh Bhardwaj. Chief Minister Atishi, an academic and unlikely politician, weathered the storm to retain Kalkaji seat.
The BJP won 48 of the 70 seats at stake and the AAP was way behind with 22, according to the Election Commission. The elections were largely seen as a bipolar contest between the AAP, which made a determined bid for a fourth term, and the BJP. While the AAP had 62 members in the outgoing house, the saffron party had just eight legislators.
The Congress, which had ruled for 15 consecutive years under Sheila Dikshit from 1998, came a cropper in the Assembly elections failing to get even a single seat for the third straight time. Its candidates suffered crushing defeats with a majority of them even losing their deposits.
The BJP’s vote share in Delhi has grown by nearly 13% points in the last 10 years while the AAP’s vote share has declined by nearly 10% points during the same period. There was a difference of only two per cent between the vote shares of the BJP and AAP. The Congress secured a vote share of 6.34%.
The AAP came to power in Delhi for the first time in 2013 on the back of the promise to sweep away corruption. But its minority government propped up by Congress lasted only 49 days after Kejriwal resigned following which Delhi came under a spell of President’s rule.
(2) Union Budget: No income tax up to ₹12 lakh, tax slabs revised
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday (February 1, 2025) made history as she presented a record eighth consecutive budget. After the Budget presentation, Sitharaman said fiscal and monetary measures announced recently will help boost consumption and promote private investment.
The Budget proposed a slew of measures including significant income tax cuts for the middle class. Individuals earning up to Rs 12.75 lakh in a year will not have to pay any taxes, benefiting 1 crore taxpayers. She also tweaked tax slabs in a manner that the highest tax rate in the country — 30% — will come into effect only after one reaches an annual income of Rs 24 lakh per annum, or Rs 2 lakh per month.
Schemes for the MSME sector, women, farmers, the education sector, boosting exports, etc. have also been announced.
Despite the massive tax cut, which will cost the government around Rs 1 lakh crore in foregone revenues, the fiscal deficit (or the level of money borrowed) of the government will be reduced further to 4.4% (of the GDP) in 2025-26, Sitharaman said.
(3) Updates for GDP, inflation announced in MPC meeting
After the first Monetary Policy Committee meeting after the Union Budget last week, the Reserve Bank of India cut the rate at which it lends to other banks from 6.5% to 6.25%. This is the first decrease in the rate since 2020. A reduction in the amount at which the central bank lends to other commercial banks means the cost of taking out a loan drops for the people, enabling more economic activity through that money.
Such measures come as a complement to the tax relief announced in the Budget, boosting consumption and economic growth. This was the sentiment expressed by Indian corporate companies, as PTI reported.
On the inflation front, the RBI forecast retail inflation for 2024-25 to be 4.8%, falling to 4.2% next fiscal. The RBI has a target range of 2% to 6%. Good kharif harvests, winter-easing in vegetable prices and favourable rabi crop prospects will soften food inflation, according to the Monetary Policy Statement. However, uncertainty in global energy prices and adverse weather events are risks, it said.
The RBI forecast for the 2024-25 GDP is 6.4%, down from 8.2% in 2023-24. Private consumption is expected to be a driver of economic growth, along with growth in services and agriculture sectors. Industrial growth at a slower pace might be a drag, the Statement said.
(4) Kerala Budget: Land tax hiked, special package for Wayanad
A 50% hike in the land tax, expected to bring in an additional ₹100 crore for the State government, plans to transform the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) into a “revenue-generating entity,” as well as announcements aimed at boosting investment-friendly infrastructure, marked the 2025-2026 Kerala Budget presented by Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal here on Friday.
Presenting his fifth Budget in the Kerala Assembly, Mr. Balagopal chose to paint an optimistic picture of a State economy that has “definitely overcome the trying times of severe fiscal constraints” that had affected it in recent years.
Presenting the budget, Balagopal announced a project with a Phase-1 funding of ₹750 crore for the rehabilitation of landslide survivors in Wayanad and a ₹50-crore special package for mitigating human-wildlife conflict.
In the case of the land tax, basic tax rates across all slabs will be increased by 50%. The rate in the lowest slab will be increased from ₹5 per are (2.47 cents) a year to ₹7.5 per are. The highest slab will see a rise from ₹30 per are annually to ₹45.
Compared to last year, Mr. Balagopal’s latest Budget has, in general, eyed additional resource mobilisation on a modest scale, setting a relatively low target of ₹366 crore.
Apart from the land tax hike, it also announced a slew of court fee revisions for raking in an additional ₹150 crore and a hike in the lifetime road tax of electric vehicles which is expected to bring in ₹30 crore.
(5) Swede shooter kills 11 in country’s ‘worst’ mass shooting
At least 10 people were shot dead by a gunman in central Sweden on Tuesday (February 4, 2025) at an educational centre for adults. The shooting is said to be the worst the country has seen. Looking at the overall numbers, fatalities from gun homicide have increased marginally in recent years.
The country’s National Council for Crime Prevention noted in a study that approximately four people died per million inhabitants per year due to gun violence. The average for Europe is 1.6 deaths per million, it said. The victims of gun violence tended to be increasingly younger (between 20 – 29 years of age) between 2000 and 2021, the period of study. The study also notes that most gun homicides (eight out of every 10) happen in “criminal milieu”, or as violence between criminal gangs. Therefore, it is very rare to see a mass shooting like Tuesday’s in the country.
Published – February 10, 2025 04:13 pm IST