GST 2.0 implementation a ‘festival of savings’, first step towards economic self-reliance, PM says in address to nation

Hours earlier than the brand new two-slab Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime is about to be rolled out at midnight on Sunday (September 21, 2025), Prime Minister Narendra Modi termed it a “bachat utsav”, a competition of financial savings, and the first step towards “aatmanirbharta” or economic self-reliance for Indians.

In a televised broadcast to the nation, Mr. Modi drew connections between the simplification of the GST regime from a four-slab to two-slab system, ease in compliance, and the discount in costs ensuing from it to a bigger level concerning the want for Indians to weed out foreign-made merchandise from their on a regular basis life, and undertake merchandise made in India, boosting the nation’s Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).

“Garv se kaho yeh swadeshi hai aur main swadeshi khareedta aur bechta hoon (be proud to say you are swadeshi, and buy and sell swadeshi goods),” Mr. Modi stated, including that, in the previous, when India was a affluent nation, it was on the power of the world-class commodities produced and traded by it.

The address to the nation by the Prime Minister additionally comes in the backdrop of punitive commerce tariffs by the U.S., and a troubled commerce outlook.

Mr. Modi described the following technology GST reforms, together with with Income Tax exemption of up to ₹12 lakh every year for people, as a double bonanza for the center and neo-middle class of India, stating that it could lead to financial savings of practically ₹2.5 lakh crore in households as a result of of cheaper items. He termed it his authorities’s “nagarik devo bhava” (citizen is akin to god) perspective in public coverage.

“On the first day of Navratri itself, the country is taking its first steps towards aatmanirbharta,” the PM stated. He went on to describe the choice to undertake a GST regime in 2017 after appreciable discussions with stakeholders, and with all State governments on board. He appealed to State governments, too, to undertake the coverage of encouraging the manufacture of Indian items. He supplied particulars of how 4 slabs in GST had been diminished to two, with many every day use items, which earlier attracted a tax of 12%, now in the 5% slab.

“I am happy that our traders and the MSME sector has welcomed the GST next generation reforms. My expectation from the MSME sector is to recall that the basis of India’s past prosperity has been the excellence of its manufacturing, especially of the MSME sector, and adopt the attitude to regain that space and reputation for world-class goods,” Mr. Modi said.

An appeal to boost domestic consumption was also made by the Prime Minister, who said that his government had, over the last 11 years, lifted 25 crore people from below the poverty line. “This neo-middle class and the middle class that has been given Income Tax exemption will be saving ₹2.5 lakh crore through these reforms, but everyone has to remember that the goal of Viksit Bharat (developed India) can only be reached via self-reliance. Over the last few decades, foreign products have crept into many of our everyday objects of use, and we need to replace these with our own products,” Mr. Modi said.

Prime Minister Modi had first announced the Union government’s intention to undertake a reform of the GST regime during his customary Independence Day address from the ramparts of the Red Fort in New Delhi. In September, the GST Council cleared the two-slab regime.