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Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that the next generation GST reforms would 'absolutely' set an economy open and transparent with further reduction in compliance burden and benefiting small businesses. She said Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently announced the creation of a Task Force for next generation reforms with a clearer mandate to simplify regulations, lower compliance costs and also build a more enabling ecosystems for startups, Micro, Small and Medium enterprises and entrepreneurs.

She stated ‘Complementing this, the planned roll out of the next generation GST reforms with the planned Council meeting tomorrow and day after, will set an economy absolutely open and transparent in the coming months and with further reduction in compliance burden, making it easier for small businesses to thrive.’ In his Independence Day address, PM Modi announced big-ticket Goods and Services Tax (GST) reforms and promised a Diwali bonanza for citizens. 

Further, Sitharaman said that if India is advancing towards its vision of Viksit Bharat 2047 then the banks are called upon to not only expand credit but also provide momentum for infrastructure development, ensure timely and need-based funding for MSMEs, bringing the unbanked into the fold of formal banking and meeting diverse requirements where the support of banking channels was vital. She noted the guiding principles for this transformation must be trust, technology and transparency. she stated over past 11 years, 56 crore Jan Dhan accounts have been opened with total deposits of Rs 2.68 lakh crore, and majority of the account holders were women.