PM Modi Hails GST Reforms, Launches ₹50,000-Crore Projects in Odisha

Mumbai: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday hailed the revised Goods and Services Tax (GST) framework as a game-changer, declaring that the “era of double bachat (savings) and double kamai (income)” has arrived under BJP rule.

Addressing the Namo Yuva Samabesh in Jharsuguda, Modi accused the Congress of fostering “loot tantra” during its time in power. “Congress never left any chance to loot you. Since 2014, we pulled the country out from their loot tantra,” he said.

The Prime Minister described GST reforms as a “bachat utsav” (savings festival), claiming they had significantly lowered household and sectoral expenses. According to him, families now spend only ₹5,000–6,000 annually in taxes on essentials worth ₹1 lakh, compared to ₹20,000–25,000 during the Congress era. “This ensures savings of around ₹20,000 for lower middle-class families,” Modi said.

He further noted that the income tax threshold had been raised from ₹2 lakh in 2014 to ₹12 lakh now, delivering direct relief to middle-class households.

Detailing sector-specific benefits, Modi said GST cuts had reduced the cost of tractors by up to ₹40,000, rice-planting machines by ₹15,000, and power tillers by ₹10,000. He, however, accused Congress-ruled states of undermining these gains with higher levies. Citing Himachal Pradesh’s recent hike in cement levy, he said, “Wherever Congress remains in power, it indulges in looting the people.”

Alongside his address, the Prime Minister laid the foundation stone and inaugurated projects worth over ₹50,000 crore in Odisha, spanning telecommunications, railways, higher education, healthcare, skill development, and rural housing.

Key announcements included:

• ₹11,000-crore infrastructure expansion across eight IITs — Tirupati, Palakkad, Bhilai, Jammu, Dharwad, Jodhpur, Patna, and Indore — to add 12,000 seats over the next four years.
• Rail projects — a ₹273-crore rail flyover between Sambalpur City and Sarala, and the flagging off of the Amrit Bharat Express between Berhampur and Udhna (Surat, Gujarat).
• MERITE scheme launch — aimed at enhancing quality, equity, and research in 275 state engineering and polytechnic institutions.
• Odisha Skill Development Project Phase-II — with world skill centres in Sambalpur and Berhampur at an investment of ₹1,979 crore.

Modi said these initiatives would empower youth, strengthen infrastructure, and accelerate Odisha’s economic growth.

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