New Delhi, June 6 -- Prime Minister Narendra Modi started his third term on June 10, 2024 by signing the release of Rs.20,000 crore to 93 million farmers under PM Kisan Nidhi Yojana. The budget for 2024-25, presented the following month, announced an internship programme at 500 top firms for at least 10 million youth. And the latest budget, presented on February 1, 2025 gave significant income-tax relief to the middle class by effectively ensuring that people earning up to Rs.12.75 lakh were outside the tax net. The fiscal deficit for 2024-25 came in at 4.8% (revised estimate), against a budgeted estimate of 4.9% -- indicating that none of these measures bust the bank. The budgeted fiscal deficit for this financial year is 4.4%.

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