The 56th GST Council Meeting: India's Historic Leap Towards Tax Simplification and Economic Revival The 56th meeting of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council, held on September 3-4, 2025, stands as a watershed moment in India's taxation history, marking the most comprehensive overhaul of the indirect tax system since GST's inception in 2017. Under the astute leadership of Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, this marathon 10.5-hour deliberation has delivered what Prime Minister Narendra Modi aptly termed as "next-generation GST reforms" – a transformative initiative that promises to fundamentally reshape India's economic landscape. The Genesis: From Vision to Reality The foundation for these monumental reforms was eloquently laid by Prime Minister Modi during his Independence Day address on August 15, 2025, where he declared his intention to bring transformative GST changes before Diwali, describing it as a "double Diwali gift" for the...