New GST reforms to boost savings, benefit all sections of society, PM tells citizens

A day after addressing the nation and hailing the new GST structure as one that will accelerate growth, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday (September 22, 2025) wrote an open letter to the citizens and said the country must celebrate the “GST Bachat Utsav (GST Savings Festival)“ this festive season. He said lower GST rates will bring more savings to every household and ensure greater ease of doing business.

In the letter on the first day of Navatri, Mr. Modi said the GST reforms have brought a positive change across the country.

The Prime Minister said the restructured GST regime will boost savings and directly benefit all sections of the society, including farmers, traders, and Micro, Small & Medium enterprises (MSMEs). He said the latest GST norms will encourage higher growth and more investments, accelerating the progress of every State and region.

“An important feature of the next generation GST reforms is that there will mainly be two slabs of 5% and 18%,” he said, noting that essential items such as dry fruits, medicines, soap, toothpaste, insurance, and many more items will now either be tax-free or fall in the lowest 5% tax slab.

“In the last few years, 25 crore people have risen above poverty and formed an aspirational neo-middle class. Further, we have also strengthened the hands of our middle class with the massive income tax cuts, which ensure zero tax up to the annual income of ₹12 lakh. If we combine the income tax cuts and the next generation GST reforms, they add up to savings of nearly ₹2.5 lakh crore for the people,” he said.

The Prime Minister recalled the implementation of GST in 2017 and said the “nation’s GST journey… was a turning point in freeing our citizens and businesses from the web of multiple taxes.”

“GST united the entire nation economically. ‘One Nation One Tax’ brought uniformity and relief. The GST Council, with the active participation of both Centre and States, took many important pro-people decisions,” he said.

Mr. Modi said the new reforms simplify the system, and small business, shopkeepers, traders, manufacturers, and MSMEs will experience greater “ease of doing business” and “ease of compliance”. Lower taxes, lower prices and simpler rules will mean better sales, less compliance burden and growth of opportunities, he added.

“Our collective goal is Viksit Bharat by 2047. To achieve it, walking on the path of self-reliance is imperative. These reforms strengthen our local manufacturing base, paving the way towards Aatmanirbhar Bharat,” he said, urging people to buy and sell ‘Made in India’ goods.

Mr. Modi also urged State governments to “encourage industry, manufacturing, and improvement of the investment climate.”

Earlier, at a press conference, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw highlighted the reduced prices of household goods and other essential items due to the GST cuts, pointing out that the previous Congress-led regimes had levied steep taxes. Stating that GST benefits are shared across all States, he said the reforms reflected the Prime Minister’s emphasis on cooperative federalism.

Mr. Vaishnaw said the reforms will lead to an estimated increase of ₹20 lakh crore in the country’s GDP, which is currently about ₹330 lakh crore. It will directly impact investments, giving a boost to manufacturing and job creation, due to an increase in demand.

Stressing that the government is keeping a close watch to ensure that benefits of the rate cuts are passed on to the people, the Union Minister said all the sectors have given their assurance in this regard.He said that over the past 11 years, under the leadership of Mr. Modi, measures have been taken to promote ‘Made in India’ products.