Big relief to the common man! Now GST will not be applicable on education, medicine and kitchen items; See full list:

Business Desk, New Delhi. After the General Budget, the Central Government has decided to implement ‘GST 2.0’ reforms, making a revolutionary change in the GST structure. According to the latest update of 9th February 2026, many important goods and services related to everyday life have now been included in the Nil (NIL) GST slab.

The main objective of this step is to reduce the increasing financial burden on middle class families and ease the standard of living. Let us know how much savings are going to happen in your shopping bags and kitchen budget.

1. Huge cut in kitchen budget (Food Items)

The government has completely removed the tax burden on basic items used in the kitchen.

Now 0% GST (Tax Free):- Parantha, Chapati and Roti (which were earlier in the bracket of 18% or 5%).

Ultra-High Temperature (UHT) Milk and Paneer/Chhena (Packaged).

Pizza bread, khakhra and jaggery.

Goods made cheaper (from 12% to 5%): Dry fruits (cashew nuts, almonds), refined sugar, ghee, butter and pasta.

2. Education becomes cheaper: Students get the gift of ‘zero tax’

Now no GST will have to be paid on study related material, which will reduce the expenditure of schools and colleges.

Tax free materials: Pencils, sharpeners, erasers, notebooks, drawing books, maps and charts. Earlier, tax on these was up to 12%.

3. Healthcare and Insurance: Treatment becomes affordable

The government has given the biggest relief in the health sector.

Insurance: 18% GST on individual life insurance and health insurance premiums has now been completely removed. This means that if you used to pay a premium of Rs 50,000, now you will directly save Rs 9,000.

Medicines: Now there will be zero tax on 33 life-saving medicines and cancer medicines. Tax on thermometers, medical oxygen and diagnostic kits has also been reduced to 5%.

4. Impact on home appliances and luxury also

Electronics: Tax on home appliances like small TVs (up to 32 inches), geysers and mixers has been reduced from 28% to 18%.

Automobile: The tax burden on small cars and vehicles less than 1200cc has also reduced.

What is the purpose of this step of the government?

Experts say that this rationalization in GST rates will increase the demand in the market and increase the savings of the general public. Prime Minister Modi also said through social media that these reforms will ensure ‘ease of doing’ and ‘ease of living’ in the lives of the middle class, farmers and small traders.

Be careful: these things have become expensive

While on one hand there has been relief, on the other hand the tax on some ‘sin goods’ has also been increased:

Pan Masala and Tobacco: The new capacity based tax system has now been implemented, which may lead to an increase of 5-8% in the prices of cigarettes and tobacco products.