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  GST fails its biggest promise - formalisation of economy The report, however, noted that over the long-term, GST will lead to more formalisation of the economy A year into implementation, goods and services tax (GST) has not delivered on the promised formalisation of the economy as yet, while the glitches in the one-nation-one-tax regime has increased the demand for cash, says a foreign brokerage report. "The GST regime was originally associated with formality. But so far, in our view, it has not been able to live up to that promise. nor has it brought down the demand for cash which has in fact only gone up," British brokerage HSBC said in a report today. The report, however, noted that over the long-term, GST will lead to more formalisation of the economy. The GST was implemented from July 1, 2017 and since then it has undergone multiple changes including lowering of tax rates of many items and an increase in the numbers of cesses and the levy rate, which was suppo...

  PM pitches for double-digit GDP growth, raising India's share in world trade Prime Minister Narendra Modi today called for targeting double-digit GDP growth for breaking into the USD 5 trillion economy club and said India's share in world trade has to more than double to 3.4 per cent. Speaking after laying the foundation stone of Vanijya Bhawan, a new office complex of the Ministry of Commerce here, he said his government has in four years taken steps to ease the process of doing business in India while maintaining macroeconomic indicators like inflation, current account deficit (CAD) and fiscal deficit within limits. After scaling these positive macroeconomic indicators, what next, the Prime Minister asked. He said GDP growth touched 7.7 per cent in the last quarter of 2017-18 fiscal but now the time has come to look beyond 7-8 per cent growth and target double-digit expansion. "The need of the hour is that we should work towards achieving the target of double d...