PM conferred with Cyprus' highest civilian honour
Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides conferred the award on the Prime Minister. The Order of Makarios III is the senior order of knighthood awarded by the country named after the first President of Cyprus, Archbishop Makarios III.
Dedicating the award to the 1.4 billion people of India, Modi said it was an award to the trusted India-Cyprus friendship.
'I am confident that in the time to come, our active partnership will touch new heights. Together, we will not only strengthen the progress of our two nations but also contribute towards building a peaceful and secure world,' the Prime Minister said.
Modi is in Cyprus on the first leg of his three-nation tour. From Cyprus, he will travel to Canada to attend the G7 summit, and then to Croatia.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
10 minutes ago
- Business Standard
India Inc bets on capex, demand surge after Modi promises GST overhaul
PM Modi's promise of a sweeping GST overhaul aims to lower tax rates, simplify compliance, and modernise the system, spurring growth in sectors like manufacturing, housing, and consumer goods BS Reporters Kolkata/Chennai/New Delhi Listen to This Article India's corporate leaders are betting on a revival in capital spending and consumer demand after Prime Minister Narendra Modi vowed today to deliver sweeping goods and services tax reforms by Diwali. The overhaul, described by Modi as a 'Diwali gift' during his Independence Day address, aims to lower tax rates, simplify compliance, and modernise the GST system to make it more growth-friendly. Corporate leaders expect the planned revamp to cut levies on daily-use goods, rationalise rates to address inverted duty structures, and move toward a two-slab framework — one standard rate and a lower merit rate for essentials, with special
India Today
10 minutes ago
- India Today
Government proposes 5%, 18% GST slabs; tobacco at 40%, relief for farmers: Sources
The government has proposed a major overhaul of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) structure, recommending two tax slabs of 5% and 18%, with sin goods like tobacco and pan masala facing a 40% GST. Government sources said the proposal has been sent to the GST Council, which will hold a two-day meeting in September to finalise the Minister Narendra Modi, in his Independence Day address, announced plans for a 'next-generation GST reform' to be introduced by Diwali. 'I am going to give a great gift this Diwali. Over the past eight years, we implemented a major GST reform and simplified taxes. Now, the time has come for a review. We have conducted it, consulted with states, and are set to introduce a 'next-generation GST reform',' the Prime Minister said from the Red to sources, the rationalisation plan includes tax cuts for farm products, health-related items, handicrafts, and insurance. The government believes the move will boost consumption and stimulate economic growth. - Ends advertisement
Mint
10 minutes ago
- Mint
India to focus GST reforms under THESE 3 pillars to ease tax burden on citizens — Explained
GST reforms: India's Ministry of Finance on Friday, 15 August 2025, announced that the central government has proposed goods and services tax (GST) reforms focusing on three key aspects in its efforts to ease the tax burden on citizens. In a social media post on platform X, the ministry explained Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Independence Day 2025 announcement that the reforms to be imposed will be based on the three pillars of structural reforms, rate rationalisation, and ease of living. The government has sent its proposal to the GST Council-appointed Group of Ministers (GoM) for further examination. The committee, in its next meeting, will discuss the recommendations from the proposed GST reforms by the centre and will make efforts for an 'early implementation' for the people of the nation. 1. Structural reforms: The central government has proposed to correct the inverted duty structures in order to align the input and output tax rates to facilitate an input tax credit reduction. Input tax credit means that one can reduce their taxes based on the duties paid on the inputs in a production process. "This would support domestic value addition," said the finance ministry. They also highlighted that the government has proposed to resolve classification issues to streamline rate structures, minimise disputes, simplify compliance processes to ensure consistency across the sectors in the Indian economy. Through these GST reforms, the centre aims to provide long-term clarity on the GST rates and policy decisions to build up the industry confidence in the market. 2. Rate Rationalisation: The finance ministry also explained that they plan to move towards a simpler indirect tax regime with 'two slabs — standard and merit' as compared to its current variable rates of GST. The government will also impose 'special rates' of GST for only a select 'few items' sold in India, according to its proposal to the GST Council. "Essentially move towards simple tax with 2 slabs – standard and merit. Special rates only for select few items," the ministry said, without providing further details in its post. The centre aims to enhance affordability, boost consumption, and make essential and aspirational goods more accessible to a wider population of the nation. The rate rationalisation pillar also includes the end of 'compensation cess', which will provide greater flexibility to rationalise and align tax rates within the GST framework. 3. Ease of living: The ministry aims to bring forth a seamless, technology-driven, and time-bound system for the small businesses and startups. The proposal also aims to implement pre-filled returns, in order to reduce the manual intervention required, and eliminate mismatches in the GST filing process. "Faster and automated processing of refunds for exporters and those with inverted duty structure," the finance ministry highlighted as part of its third pillar for the proposed GST reforms. Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a separate post said that the GST reforms will benefit empowering the common man or citizens, along with MSMEs and the industries. "We are working on next generation GST reforms which will further empower common citizens, MSMEs and industries," said Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his recent post on the social media platform X. Modi said that central government's proposal to launch the new GST reforms aims to reduce the tax burden on the people of the nation. "This will reduce the tax burden across the country," said PM Modi in his Independence Day 2025 address to the citizens. Mint reported earlier that the government was planning to reduce the number of tax brackets under GST for the products sold in India, along with the overall slab rates. The current GST rate slabs in India are 5%, 12%, 18% and 28% on most of the goods and services sold as of Friday, 15 August 2025. The government also highlighted that the centre is committed to work with the state governments and will build a broad-based consensus with them in the coming weeks to implement the proposed GST reforms as the GST Council will meet to discuss the given proposal. "The Government reaffirms its commitment to evolving the GST into a simple, stable, and transparent tax system," said the finance ministry in its post.
