We have seen just before any elections prices are held static for items like petrol, diesel and LPG while the government actively intervenes to maintain the price line of any specific item like onion, tomato or dal. One wonders where this sensitiveness and concern goes after the elections are over. Lately we have a number of daily use and consumption items that have been moved from the 0% GST to 5%. These are food items like curd, lassi etc. and the ostensible reason for taxing these now is that they are packaged items. We have the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman make a pithy statement that when sold loose they will not attract tax. Packaging is a value-addition exercise which makes the items safer for transportation and increases their shelf life. As for Sitharaman her performance as a finance minister leaves a lot to be desired. The approach of our government and finance minister is to blame unrelated and extraneous factors on matters that are of concern for the economy and when they cannot do so then finally blame the foreign hand.
