‘PM Modi’s gift for the festive season’: Politicians hail ‘historic’ GST rate cuts

Following Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s announcement late on Wednesday that the GST Council has unanimously approved dual GST slabs of 5% and 18%, politicians made a beeline to hail the decision on social media.

Piyush Goyal, the Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, called the GST reforms the Prime Minister’s historic Diwali gift for all. “These broad-based GST rate rationalisation and process reforms are aimed at enhancing ease of living for citizens and supporting farmers, MSMEs, the middle class, women, and youth, while fostering growth across key sectors of the economy,” reads his post on X.

S Jaishankar, the Union Minister of External Affairs, wrote in a post on X that the GST reforms will have “a huge impact on the transformation story underway in India and the Government’s effort to improve ease of living and doing business.”

According to Rajnath Singh, the Union Minister of Defence, the GST reforms will bring relief across sectors. “With tax rates reduced on many important items, this reform will bring ease of living, further strengthen ease of doing business, empower small businesses, and boost India’s self-reliance under Aatmanirbhar Bharat,” read his post on X.

“Historic Next-Gen GST Reforms. PM Narendra Modi Ji’s gift for the coming festival season—cutting costs, easing lives, and powering Aatmanirbhar Bharat,” wrote Ashwini Vaishnaw, the Union Minister for Railways, Information & Broadcasting, Electronics and Information Technology, in a post on X.

Jyotiraditya Scindia, the Union Minister of Communications and the Development of North Eastern Region, said that the GST reforms are a testament to governance that is pro-people, pro-growth, and pro-reform.

“The 56th GST Council chaired by Smt. @nsitharaman ji has approved a landmark two-tier structure of 5% and 18%, simplifying taxes and enhancing ease of doing business. This reform lightens the tax burden on households, empowers farmers, supports labour-intensive industries, strengthens health & agriculture, and boosts aspirational goods,” reads his post.

Scindia also added that such reforms reflect the incumbent government’s governance, which is anchored in its credo of ‘Reform, Perform and Transform,’ and is about empowering each citizen, where prosperity is truly equitable and democratised.

N Chandrababu Naidu, the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh and the President of the Telugu Desam Party, said that the pro-poor, growth-oriented decision of implementing GST reforms will benefit all sections of society, from farmers to businesses.

"As announced by PM Modi Ji on Independence Day, these next-generation GST reforms mark a strategic and citizen-centric advancement of our tax framework, ensuring a better quality of life for every Indian," reads his post on X.

According to Giriraj Singh, the Union Minister of Textiles, the GST reforms is the big step towards empowering the common man and facilitating ease of Doing Business. "Most of the Chapters under textiles now comes under 5% Slab and will boost exports and domestic consumption. Handicrafts sector gets big boost post GST reforms," read his post on X.