Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday strongly advocated for promoting locally-produced goods and asserted that the next generation GST reforms will accelerate India’s growth story, increase ease of doing business, and attract more investors.
The nation will have only two GST slabs — 5 percent and 18 percent. The revised Goods and Services Tax (GST) structure was announced earlier this month and the reforms are effective from Monday, 22 September 2025.
Modi stated that 99 percent of the items currently sold in India will now fall under the 5 percent tax bracket of GST, as the focus is on the middle class and the low-income group of the nation.
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In his address to the nation, a day before reduced GST rates come into effect, Modi said a ‘GST Bachat Utsav (savings festival)’ will begin from the first day of Navratri (a Hindu festival), and, coupled with the income tax exemption, it will be a “double bonanza” for most Indians.
Modi emphasized that all states will be equal stakeholders in the development race. He urged citizens to stop using foreign-made products and instead use local ones, pushing for a self-reliant campaign when trade ties with the United States have soured.
“A lot of products we use daily are foreign made, we just don’t know… we will have to get rid of them,” Modi said in his address.
“We should buy products that are made in India,” he added, without naming any country.
