Hyderabad, Feb. 1 -- As Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman prepares to present her record eighth consecutive Budget, a cut or tweak in income tax rates/slabs to ease the burden of the middle class struggling with high prices and stagnant wage growth is widely expected.

The Budget for the fiscal year starting April 1 is expected to contain measures to shore up weakening economic growth while being fiscally prudent. It is likely to focus on steps to boost consumption while sticking to the roadmap of narrowing the fiscal deficit.

The government's first full-year budget in the third term will be presented against the backdrop of geopolitical uncertainties and an economic growth rate slowing to a year low, with new US President Donald...