Daily News - Monday, 22 September 2025

GST rate cut will make medicines more affordable, accessible: IPA secy (Business Standard)

The Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance (IPA) welcomed the launch of Next Generation GST reforms, with Secretary General Sudarshan Jain calling it a transformative step that removes GST from 36 medicines, caps most others at 5%, and makes healthcare more affordable and accessible while boosting India’s self-reliance. Prime Minister Narendra Modi described the reforms as a “Bachat Utsav,” stressing that the combined effect of GST and income tax relief will save citizens over ₹2.5 lakh crore this year, while also urging people to adopt Swadeshi and buy Made-in-India products that carry the effort of the country’s youth. He further highlighted that the reforms will directly benefit MSMEs and small industries by lowering their tax burden, increasing their sales, and strengthening India’s path toward self-reliance and long-term prosperity.

⁠GST 2.0 implementation a ‘festival of savings’, first step towards economic self-reliance, PM says in address to nation (The Hindu)

⁠Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the rollout of India’s new two-slab GST regime as a “Bachat Utsav” (festival of savings), calling it a landmark step towards economic self-reliance, or “Aatmanirbhar” (self-sufficiency), that simplifies taxation, reduces prices on daily-use goods, and boosts savings for households, with the middle and neo-middle class set to save nearly ₹2.5 lakh crore through combined GST and income tax reforms. Speaking to the nation, Modi urged citizens to embrace Swadeshi by buying and selling Indian-made products, linking the reforms to strengthening MSMEs, reviving India’s manufacturing legacy, and reducing dependence on foreign goods, while framing these moves as part of the government’s “Nagarik Devo Bhava” (citizen is akin to god) philosophy of citizen-centric policy. He emphasised that the reforms, backed by all states and implemented at the start of Navratri, are not only a fiscal simplification but also a strategic push to build a Viksit Bharat by leveraging domestic production, enhancing affordability, and reinforcing India’s long-term economic resilience.

⁠CBAM already hurting India’s exports to EU: GTRI (Financial Express)

⁠India’s steel and aluminium exports are already feeling the pinch of the European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) even before the tax collection begins in January 2026, with reporting requirements on carbon emissions since October 2023 leading several exporters to halt shipments and causing a 24.4% drop in FY25 exports, hitting steel the hardest with a 35.1% decline, according to Ajay Srivastava of the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI). Although the EU’s recent allowance to deduct payments under India’s upcoming Carbon Credit Trading Scheme (CCTS) from CBAM liabilities has been framed as a concession, it provides little relief because most shipments exceed the 50-tonne exemption threshold and India’s carbon price, expected below $10 per tonne, falls far short of the EU ETS price of around $71, leaving exporters to cover a significant cost gap. Coupled with existing safeguard tariffs and anti-dumping duties on Indian steel, CBAM could further undermine competitiveness, prompting GTRI to urge India to negotiate transition flexibilities with the EU—such as longer phase-ins or partial waivers—to protect trade and support the ongoing India-EU FTA talks.

H-1B visa fee could cost US firms $14 billion annually: Report (Financial Express)

The Trump administration’s announcement of a $100,000 fee for new H-1B visas, set to start with the next lottery in February, could cost US companies up to $14 billion annually if the same number of visas as last year (141,000) is issued, affecting primarily IT, healthcare, and accounting sectors, and aims to encourage firms to hire American workers instead of foreign talent. The move has sparked industry backlash, with tech leaders warning it could cripple start-ups, push skilled workers to other countries like Canada, and harm the US in the global AI race, while legal experts suggest the fee may exceed government authority and could face court challenges. Broader reforms are also being considered, including raising the minimum salary for H-1B approval and shifting visa allocation from a lottery to a salary-based system, which could force companies to prioritise only highly skilled foreign workers they cannot hire domestically.

⁠Import duties may be imposed on key varieties of pulses (Financial Express)

⁠A surge in cheap imports and a robust domestic harvest have pushed mandi prices of key pulses like tur, urad, masoor, and chana well below year-ago levels and their respective MSPs, prompting concerns that farmers may reduce sowing in the upcoming rabi season and leading the government to consider imposing import duties, particularly on yellow peas, to stabilise domestic prices. Currently, duty-free imports of yellow peas, tur, and urad are allowed until March 2026, while bengal gram and masoor attract a 10% duty, but industry and farmer bodies have urged the re-imposition of higher duties to align import costs with MSPs and ensure remunerative prices, with the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices recommending bans or higher levies on key pulses. Despite a record 25.23 MT of pulse production in 2024-25 and robust imports totalling 7.34 MT, inflation in pulses has declined for seven consecutive months, but buffer stocks remain below the 3.5 MT norm, reinforcing the need for policy measures to encourage domestic production and protect farmers’ incomes.