Ex-Finance Minister Chidambaram slams govt's GST hike on scientific devices

Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Sunday criticised the government over the increase in GST rate on scientific equipment

P Chidambaram
P Chidambaram
Press Trust of India New Delhi
1 min read Last Updated : Jul 24 2022 | 9:06 PM IST

Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Sunday criticised the government over the increase in GST rate on scientific equipment, saying it perhaps believes that the scientific knowledge can be gathered by gazing at the sky and "re-imagining our past".

GST on scientific equipment needed by research institutions and universities raised from 5 per cent to 12-18 per cent, the former finance minister said in a tweet.

This "unkind act" is after reducing the budget allocation of the Ministry of Science and Technology by 3.9 per cent from last year, Chidambaram said.

"The government perhaps believes that all the scientific knowledge that we need can be gathered by gazing at the sky and re-imagining our past," he said.

The Congress has also been protesting the levying of GST on certain daily use items.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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Topics :P ChidambaramGST ratesIndian National Congress

First Published: Jul 24 2022 | 9:06 PM IST

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