March 19, 2025
Rajya Sabha MP Md Nadimul Haque’s Zero Hour mention on the demand to eliminate GST on life and health insurance products to make them more affordable
Sir, the insurance penetration in India is just four per cent. Globally, this number is at seven per cent. This Government has a habit of penalizing our country’s middle class in every way possible. Eighteen per cent GST on life and health insurance is another way of burdening the common man. Let me tell you the chronology. First, my Party, the All India Trinamool Congress, raised this matter in Parliament. Even the hon. Chief Minister of West Bengal, Ms. Mamata Banerjee, wrote a letter to you. This was followed by a letter from your Union Minister to your Finance Minister who raised it directly with her. Yet, there was no change. Soon, one by one, every Opposition party joined the call, demanding to scrap GST on life and health insurance. Instead of addressing these concerns, what did you do? Shift the onus on the GST Council! Sir, the sad reality is that the Union Government holds one-third of the votes while the States have two-thirds. However, the NDA has 21 State Governments under them. Then, what stops them? Why don’t they remove the GST? Now, you will talk about the Group of Ministers. The Group of Ministers had initially recommended exempting the premium on health insurance for senior citizens and term life insurance. We ask you again: Why do you like to neglect the middle class? You boast of income tax being exempted up to Rs. 12 lakh for the middle class. If you generally care, then, remove the GST. The truth is that they don’t understand healthcare. We all saw what happened in Covid. Sir, I urge this Government to stop penalizing the middle class and give us an assurance to scrap GST on health and life insurance. Thank you.
