Prime Minister Narendra Modi Promises A ‘Double Diwali’

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday announced a revamped Goods and Service Tax (GST) regime by Diwali this year. He also made a strong pitch for economic reforms that will push India to a higher growth trajectory in a short span of time.

In a speech marked by the theme of self-reliance, PM Modi highlighted the importance of economic reforms. The PM announced the setting up of a task force that will examine the next generation of economic reforms. This is an important subject as India has carried out almost all economic reforms given the political economy matrix in India. Some of the old reforms, such as removing frictions in factor markets (such as land) have less salience today than they did a decade ago.

The PM said that his government had championed tax reforms over the past many years, including the GST and now the time had come to review the progress and working of GST. He said the government had been in consultation with states and by Diwali the next set of GST reforms—GST2.0—would be ushered in, making items of mass consumption cheaper.

The PM also stated that made in India semiconductors would be available by the end of the year. Just days earlier, the Centre had announced investments in the sector that will be carried out in Punjab, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha. Under India’s semiconductor mission major investments have already been made in a number of states including Gujarat and Assam.

Other issues of economic importance such as self-reliance in critical minerals and a national mission for deep water exploration also found mention in the PM’s speech.

The one theme that resonated through the speech was the necessity of self-reliance (atmanirbharta) in an increasingly chaotic world. Global trade is now hostage to the whims of a few capricious countries. India, as other countries, is taking steps to safeguard its interests. The PM’s speech clearly spelled out India’s priorities.

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