‘Committed to speedy reforms’: PM Modi chairs key business meet; next-generation GST reforms discussed

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday chaired a high-level assembly with senior ministers, secretaries and economists to focus on the roadmap for ‘next-generation reforms’ and a revision of GST legal guidelines.Sharing a publish on X, the Prime Minister mentioned, “Chaired a meeting to discuss the roadmap for Next-Generation Reforms.”“We are committed to speedy reforms across all sectors, which will boost Ease of Living, Ease of Doing Business and prosperity,” he added.The assembly was attended by Union ministers Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, Nirmala Sitharaman, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Piyush Goyal and Lalan Singh.This excessive degree assembly got here after PM Modi’s Independence Day tackle, the place he promised a “Diwali gift” within the type of GST reforms and a lighter tax burden. “This Diwali, I am going to make it a double Diwali for you… Over the past eight years, we have undertaken a major reform in GST… We are bringing next-generation GST reforms. This will reduce the tax burden across the country,” he mentioned, guaranteeing that these reforms instantly profit residents and stimulate financial exercise.Following his announcement, the Centre rolled out a draft blueprint for GST 2.0, proposing two major tax slabs, 5% for important objects and 18% for many different items, to simplify the system and ease compliance.Currently, the GST framework has 5 slabs—nil, 5%, 12%, 18% and 28%—with further charges of 0.25% and three% on valuable metals.PM Modi additionally introduced the formation of a Task Force for next-generation reforms, which is able to evaluation current legal guidelines, guidelines and procedures associated to financial actions.The timing of those bulletins is critical, as they arrive amid heightened commerce tensions with the United States.US President Donald Trump slapped India with a further “penalty” tariff of 25% on all Indian imports, on prime of the 25% responsibility already in place, citing India’s continued buy of Russian oil. While the 25% price took impact from August 7, 2025, the newly introduced further tariff will come into place August 27.In response, the ministry of exterior affairs known as the transfer “unfortunate” and reiterated its stand that India would proceed to defend its “own national interest.”