Festive Season Fails to Lift GST Revenue, Modi’s Growth Claims Under Strain

New Delhi: The government’s tall promises about the Goods and Services Tax (GST) transforming India’s revenue landscape are beginning to sound hollow. When Prime Minister Narendra Modi introduced GST, it was hailed as a reform that would streamline taxation and boost income. Today, the numbers tell a very different story.

Even the festive season, usually a time of economic buoyancy, has failed to lift GST collections. In October, revenue reached 1.87 lakh crore rupees, an increase of only 9,000 crore rupees from the previous month. The growth rate has shrunk sharply to 4.6 percent, compared to the 9 percent rise seen in April and May. With the festival rush behind us, analysts expect further slowdown in the months ahead.

The Centre’s claim that cheaper goods would generate higher tax returns has also come apart. Instead of stimulating demand, the price adjustments seem to have offered little push to revenue.

To make matters worse, the Reserve Bank of India has reported a fall of 61 billion dollars in the country’s foreign exchange reserves, signalling mounting pressure on the broader economy.

Together, these figures paint a sobering picture, one of stagnation rather than progress. The much-celebrated GST model, once projected as a symbol of efficiency and growth, is now facing hard questions about its real-world performance.