New Delhi : GST booster middle class comes into effect as the new GST 2.0 reforms reduce taxes on school kits, medicines, toiletries, and other essentials. This move eases the financial burden on families and makes daily necessities more affordable.
Soap, toothpaste, shampoo, hair oil, and tooth powder — daily essentials — now attract 5 per cent GST instead of 18 per cent. On a Rs 5,000 grocery and toiletries bill, families save about Rs 500.
Taxes on food items have dropped to 5 per cent or zero. A middle-class household spending Rs 8,000–10,000 per month on groceries can save Rs 800–1,000 monthly. This adds up to over Rs 10,000 yearly.
Daily-use products such as paneer, roti, and packed parotta are now exempt from GST. Butter, ghee, cheese, chocolates, biscuits, and pickles now attract 5 per cent GST, down from 12–18 per cent.
School kits costing Rs 1,000 (notebooks, pencils, crayons) now cost Rs 850. GST on rare disease medicines, diagnostic kits, lab equipment, and medical supplies has fallen from 12 per cent to 5 per cent. Cancer drugs are now fully exempt. This makes a Rs 10,000 monthly medicine cheaper by Rs 500–1,200.
Consumer electronics also benefit. A TV priced at Rs 40,000 now costs Rs 36,000. Solar heaters of Rs 60,000 drop to Rs 53,000. Air conditioners costing Rs 35,000 now cost Rs 31,500.
Farmers, artisans, and entrepreneurs gain relief as taxes on farming equipment and business inputs drop.
The government launched the new 5, 18, and 40 per cent GST structure on the first day of the nine-day Navratri festival. Prime Minister Narendra Modi called it a “GST Bachat Utsav.”
“From tomorrow, you will be able to buy your favourite items with ease. This is like a GST saving festival for every Indian,” the Prime Minister said. He added that people with low income and the new middle class will enjoy double benefits after the GST rate cuts.
–IANS
