Exclusive | Home Minister Amit Shah hails GST 2.0 as one of the greatest reforms ever

Speaking in an exclusive interview with Network18, Union Home Minister Amit Shah hailed the Narendra Modi government’s Goods and Services Tax (GST) reform as one of the most significant economic overhauls in independent India. Shah said the GST had replaced 16 different taxes with a unified system, streamlining the economy and boosting exports.

“With GST, 16 different types of taxes — octroi, excise, sales, entertainment tax, and many others — were merged into one nationwide electronic sales tax system. E-way bills were introduced. Over the years, more than 200 small changes were made to smoothen the system and resolve teething problems. As this continued, the nation’s income grew, going from ₹80,000 crore to ₹2 lakh crore,” Shah told Network18 Group Editor Rahul Joshi.

The Home Minister also said that such a sweeping tax cut had not been seen in the past many years and emphasised its role in accelerating both market activity and investment.

“With higher income, the government was able to reduce taxes further on more than 395 items. Many daily-use items were placed in the 0% or 5% tax bracket. Essential sectors such as exports were given scientific GST. Sectors such as health, agriculture, and employment were given tax relief. Such a major tax relief was never seen before. This has benefited farm-related items, women, people’s health expenditures, insurance has become more affordable, and even two-wheelers and four-wheelers saw tax cuts. All this came through GST reforms,” said Shah.

Commenting on the earlier governments, Shah said, “The discussion around GST has been happening since the time of the Congress government, even when Shri Chidambaram was the Finance Minister, and when Shri Pranab Mukherjee was the Finance Minister. The Congress is trying to mislead by saying it was their idea. Fine, if it was your idea, why was it never implemented? Every time, they would say the states objected. What were the states objecting to? The citizens of this country need to know what it was.”

On the state of politics in the country, Shah strongly criticised the opposition for what he described as the use of “undemocratic” language in public discourse. He accused opposition leaders of weakening the foundations of democracy and urged voters to hold them accountable.

Referring to derogatory remarks allegedly made about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s late mother, Shah warned that the public would respond firmly to such “disrespectful behaviour.”

Regarding the functioning of Parliament, Shah asserted that it cannot operate in a “free-style” manner and must maintain decorum and discipline.

The Home Minister also praised Prime Minister Modi’s 11-year tenure as “historic,” highlighting his personal rapport with global leaders—relationships Shah believes have directly benefited India on the international stage.

Shah pointed to the government’s success in curbing terrorism and reinforcing the sentiment that “Kashmir is ours” as achievements that “will be remembered for centuries.”

On national security, he cited Operation Sindoor and Operation Mahadev as examples of the Modi government’s zero-tolerance policy towards terrorism. He also described India’s management of the COVID-19 pandemic as a major accomplishment.

Addressing social welfare initiatives, Shah said that Prime Minister Modi has gone beyond slogans and delivered real results on the ground, particularly in poverty alleviation.

“No Prime Minister in independent India has achieved as much in a single decade as Narendra Modi,” Shah declared.