Over six days, NDA leaders toured retail spots, markets, and homes in states like Andhra Pradesh and Delhi, interacting with traders and residents to explain GST 2.0's price cuts on essentials like milk, ghee, medicines, and automobiles.
Slabs reduced to 5% and 18%, with 0% on education items like stationery; households save 13% on groceries, ₹70,000 on small cars, and lower insurance premiums, contrasting UPA's higher VAT/service tax burdens.
PM Modi's directive spurred 20-30 events per MP, yielding sales surges (e.g., Hyundai's 11,000 units); campaign promotes Swadeshi, with Andhra's month-long drive highlighting compliance ease for small businesses.
In a nationwide push to amplify the impact of the NDA government's ambitious GST 2.0 reforms, alliance leaders have fanned out across India over the last six days, engaging directly with citizens in retail outlets, bustling markets, and residential neighborhoods. Launched in tandem with the festive season and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call for a "GST Bachat Utsav" (Savings Festival), this outreach campaign is designed to demystify the reforms and showcase their tangible benefits—from slashed prices on daily essentials to boosted local economies. Effective from September 22, 2025, following the 56th GST Council meeting, GST 2.0 simplifies the tax structure by consolidating slabs primarily into 5% and 18% (with a 40% rate for luxury and sin goods), aiming to save consumers up to ₹2 lakh crore annually while easing compliance for businesses.
According to Th Hindu, The campaign builds on PM Modi's September 21 address to the nation, where he urged NDA MPs to organize 20-30 conferences per constituency between Navratri and Diwali, linking GST reforms with the "Swadeshi" ethos to promote local manufacturing and self-reliance. Leaders have highlighted how these changes—rooted in cooperative federalism—have reduced taxes on 83 essential commodities, making groceries 13% cheaper, small cars up to ₹70,000 more affordable, and life/health insurance premiums lower by eliminating the 18% GST levy. In Andhra Pradesh, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu kicked off a month-long awareness drive, emphasizing lower prices from the restructured indirect tax regime. Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw was seen interacting with traders in Delhi, while BJP spokesperson Sanju Verma used social media to contrast UPA-era high taxes with NDA's reductions on items like chocolates, fruits, nuts, and breakfast essentials.
According to PTI, the Congress party, have accused the government of inadequate reforms and ignoring states' compensation demands, but proponents point to early wins: Hyundai reported its best single-day sales in five years with 11,000 units on Navratri's first day, and Maruti Suzuki notched 30,000 deliveries amid 80,000 enquiries. This surge underscores GST 2.0's potential to ignite a two-year consumption boom, as noted by market analysts. By visiting over 100 locations nationwide, NDA leaders are not just informing but empowering—demonstrating how digital integration and reduced compliance costs benefit shopkeepers, farmers, women, and youth alike. As Naidu put it, these reforms are a "game-changer" for economic growth, with notifications from the CBIC (issued September 17) ensuring smoother refunds and exemptions.
The drive, timed perfectly with festivals, reinforces Modi's vision of "Nagrik Devo Bhava" (Citizen as God) and Atmanirbhar Bharat, calling on states as equal partners. With banks and NBFCs rolling out credit deals to fuel spending, GST 2.0 is positioned as the NDA's landmark Diwali gift, fostering transparency, affordability, and investment appeal.
