GST Rate Cuts Make Navratri 2025 Special: PM Modi Urges Indians To Adopt Local Products
The mantra of swadeshi is going to receive a new energy during this period, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said.
The Navraatri of 2025 has become more special as GST rate cuts comes into effect and people are growing their preferences for local products and services, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a post on X.
The mantra of swadeshi is going to receive a new energy during this period. He urged citizens to come together to fulfill the resolve of the developed and self-reliant India.
On the eve of Navratri, Modi also asked Indians to take pride in local products and services. When combined with recent income tax relief, these changes are projected to leave citizens with around Rs 2.5 lakh crore in extra savings.
The figure will translate into stronger household budgets, higher demand for both essentials and aspirational goods. It will also create a ripple effect that could energise the broader economy during the festive season, he said.
Modi announced the rate rationalisation on Aug 15. The GST Council approved it in the 56th meeting, held early September. The new structure has been simplified to mainly 5% and 18%, and the impact on household budgets could be significant. It came into effect on Monday.
The reforms will simplify compliance and ease of business operations and it will mark a significant step towards self-reliance, timed with the very first day of Navratri, Modi said.
In a key address on the eve of Navratri, Modi recalled India's complex web of taxes in the pre-GST era. He refered an article published over a decade ago that highlighted the challenges a foreign company faced doing business in the country.
For decades, citizens and traders were entangled by levies like Octroi, Entry Tax, Sales Tax, Excise, VAT, and Service Tax, he said. The Modi government replaced all old levies with a Goods and Services Tax in 2017 with a four-slab structure. The GST will now be revised to a two-rate regime (5% and 18%). Notably, petroleum products are out of GST's ambit.
