NewsBytes Explainer: India slashes GST on life-saving medicines

Business Sep 23, 2025

Big news: As of September 22, 2025, India has dropped the GST on essential medicines from 12% to 5%, and made 36 life-saving drugs fully exempted from GST.
This means many patients dealing with chronic illnesses such as cancer, diabetes, and respiratory issues may see lower bills for certain medicines.

Patients, manufacturers to benefit

If you or someone you know is fighting a rare disease—like Fabry disease—treatment could now cost up to ₹20 lakh less each year.
Breast cancer patients might save around ₹4 lakh on their meds too.
Plus, these changes are set to encourage more homegrown manufacturing, helping India rely less on imports and making vital medicines easier for everyone to access.