GST Bachat Utsav: Finance Ministry says rate cuts fully passed on for 54 monitored products
At a joint press conference in New Delhi on 18 October 2025, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said Next-Gen GST rate cuts had been fully passed on for all 54 products the Finance Ministry was closely monitoring.
Summary
At a joint press conference on GST Bachat Utsav in New Delhi on 18 October 2025, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and Electronics and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw reviewed the Next-Gen GST reforms, which took effect from 22 September 2025, the first day of Navratri. Sitharaman said the reforms cut rates, simplified processes and reduced the number of slabs from four to two, and that the Department of Revenue's close monitoring of 54 products showed the benefits had been fully passed on. Vaishnaw said Navratri electronics sales rose 20–25% over last year, electronics manufacturing had created jobs for over 25 lakh people, and production had begun at two semiconductor facilities, CG Semi and Kaynes. He said that of last year's ₹335 lakh crore GDP, ₹202 lakh crore came from consumption and ₹98 lakh crore from investment.
Key facts
- Date/place
- 18 Oct 2025, New Delhi
- Reform start
- 22 Sep 2025 (first day of Navratri)
- Slabs
- Four reduced to two
- Monitoring
- 54 products, Department of Revenue; benefits fully passed on
- Electronics
- Navratri sales up 20–25%; over 25 lakh jobs
- Semiconductors
- Production started at CG Semi and Kaynes
Practice MCQs 3 questions
How many products did the Finance Ministry closely monitor to check that Next-Gen GST rate cuts reached consumers, as stated on 18 October 2025?
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Correct answer: B — 54
PIB: the Finance Minister said prices of 54 products were closely monitored and the benefits had been fully passed on across all 54 items.
According to Ashwini Vaishnaw on 18 October 2025, production had commenced at which two semiconductor manufacturing facilities?
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Correct answer: D — CG Semi and Kaynes
PIB: Shri Vaishnaw announced that production has commenced at two semiconductor manufacturing facilities — CG Semi and Kaynes.
Consider the following statements about the Next-Gen GST reforms, as described at the 18 October 2025 press conference: 1. They came into effect on 22 September 2025, the first day of Navratri. 2. They reduced the number of GST slabs from four to three. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
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Correct answer: A — 1 only
Only 1 is correct. PIB: the Next-Gen GST reforms came into effect on 22 September, the first day of Navratri, and brought the number of slabs down from four to two.