The Goods and Services Tax (GST) has moved beyond tax reform to become the economic engine of India’s ambition to become a developed nation. AI generated image Nine years ago, the GST replaced a maze of taxes, cesses and state-level barriers with a single national framework. Since then, it has altered how goods move across the country, how businesses enter the formal economy, how governments track economic activity and how the Centre and states share fiscal responsibilities.

While GST relief for individual insurance is welcome, but taxing group insurance at 18 percent weakens India’s largest vehicle for mass social protection. In a landmark reform, the Indian government abolished the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on individual life and health insurance, advancing its ambition of “Insurance for All by 2047.” By removing the 18 percent tax burden on retail policies, the state lowered the cost of financial protection for millions of households confro