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May 14: IndiGo, India’s preferred airline, today announced a partnership with Single.id to enable IndiGo BluChip members to earn rewards in a simpler, faster way on their everyday spends across brands such as McDonald’s(West and South), Wow! Momo, Snitch, Colorbar, Himalaya and Pizza Hut, amongst many others. 

Through this integration, customers can link their debit or credit cards on the IndiGo Single.id Portal and start earning IndiGo BluChips automatically when they shop across a wide network of high consumption categories like fuel, shopping, dining and many more without coupons, codes, or any extra steps. 

Neetan Chopra, Chief Digital and Information Officer, IndiGo, said: “IndiGo BluChip is designed to be truly ‘easy to earn and easy to redeem’, while continually strengthening IndiGo’s value proposition for our loyal customers. We are pleased to partner with SingleID, a collaboration that further enhances the experience of IndiGo BluChip members by offering them additional opportunities to accelerate rewards and benefits through everyday spending—whether on dining, shopping, fuel or other daily essentials. We are confident that this partnership will create meaningful ways to engage and delight our customers across their everyday spends, making their journey with us more rewarding.” 

“This partnership enables IndiGo BluChip members to unlock more value from their everyday transactions. By powering this with card-linked technology, we are helping create a frictionless and scalable rewards experience that enhances both customer engagement and brand discovery.” said Chandra Bhushan, Country Head, Single.id India. 

After registering the card of their choice, customers will be automatically directed to Single.id’s user‑registration page to complete the reward‑mapping process. Returning users who wish to link additional cards will be taken directly to the card‑linking page, ensuring a seamless and convenient experience. Once a user has linked their card(s), all eligible transactions made at participating merchants will automatically accrue IndiGo BluChips, as per the programme’s terms and conditions.

New Delhi, May 14: India’s small businesses are facing a compounding crisis. While global markets reel from West Asia disruptions and the Prime Minister calls on the nation to practise economic prudence, a structural flaw in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) framework is quietly draining the working capital of millions of small sellers and manufacturers across the country.

The Inverted Duty Structure (IDS) – a condition where the tax rate on inputs is higher than the tax rate on finished goods – is systematically trapping billions of rupees in unrefunded Input Tax Credits (ITC), creating a liquidity crisis that no amount of operational efficiency can overcome. Empower India, a public policy think tank, is urging the GST Council to act at the earliest opportunity to correct this structural distortion.

The Numbers: What the Data Shows

The financial toll is no longer theoretical. Data from multiple independent sources points to a systemic crisis:

• 13% of working capital locked for months: Manufacturers purchasing raw materials at 18% GST and selling finished goods at 5% face a persistent tax gap recoverable only through government refunds – refunds that routinely take months despite the promised 30-day timeline. 

• ₹30 lakh crore MSME credit gap: India’s MSME sector, contributing 30% of GDP and employing over 110 million people, faces an estimated ₹30 lakh crore credit gap, compounded by blocked ITC and delayed refunds. 

• GST 2.0 deepened the problem: The September 2025 rate rationalisation, while simplifying slabs, has intensified inverted duty structures in food processing, FMCG, and pharmaceuticals, creating fresh backlogs of unusable credits. 

• Billions trapped in unrefunded ITC: Across sectors, the IDS forces SMEs to absorb costs or pass them on to consumers, creating a systemic liquidity crisis that undermines competitiveness.

Speaking on this, Mr. K. Giri, Director General, Empower India, said,

“India’s small businesses are the backbone of our economy – and they are being slowly asphyxiated by a tax structure that punishes production. In a world already destabilised by the West Asia crisis, with supply chains under pressure and input costs rising, the burden of trapped ITC is not a bureaucratic inconvenience: it is an existential threat. The Prime Minister himself has asked the nation to be prudent with every rupee. Fixing the Inverted Duty Structure is exactly that kind of prudence – it returns capital to the hands of those who create jobs and drive growth. Every month of inaction is a month stolen from India’s small sellers.”

Where the Inversion is Most Acute

• Food Processing: Finished products taxed at 5%; packaging, cold storage, and logistics services attract 18% GST. The 2025 rate rationalisation has shifted more products to the 5% slab, deepening the inversion.

• E-Commerce Sellers: Over 1.4 million small sellers on marketplace platforms bear 18% GST on platform fees, logistics and packaging, while many product categories (garments, food, handicrafts) are taxed at 5%. The asymmetry is structurally embedded in the e-commerce cost model.

• Renewable Energy: Solar and wind components carry a 5% output rate while steel, glass, and engineering services remain at 18%, directly adding to the cost of India’s energy transition.

• Pharmaceuticals & FMCG: Pharmexcil (May 2026) has warned of reduced manufacturing capacity, supply disruptions, and employment instability following post-GST 2.0 inversions in the sector.

The Structural Flaw

Under Section 54(3) of the CGST Act, ITC refunds are permissible only where inversion is attributable to inputs (goods). Input services and capital goods – which form a growing share of costs in services-intensive industries, particularly e-commerce and food processing – are excluded from the refund scope. This exclusion significantly limits the efficacy of the relief mechanism.

A small seller on an e-commerce marketplace paying 18% GST on platform fees, logistics, and packaging while selling garments or food items at 5% faces a permanent 13-percentage-point cost disadvantage. No amount of operational efficiency bridges this gap.

Empower India’s Recommendations to the GST Council

• Broaden ITC refund scope to include input services and capital goods, not only inputs (goods).

• Redefine ‘Net ITC’ to reflect the full spectrum of input costs, delivering meaningful and complete relief rather than partial mitigation.

• Rationalise GST rates to correct structural inversions deepened by the September 2025 reforms, particularly in food processing, FMCG, and pharmaceuticals.

• Streamline and expedite refunds for MSMEs through automated processing and reduced procedural burdens to improve working capital access.

• Establish an IDS monitoring mechanism to identify and flag emerging inversions before they accumulate into systemic crises.

The Urgency

This is not a policy inconvenience. It is an economic emergency. Every month of inaction means more working capital trapped, more small factories shutting down, more sellers exiting the formal economy. In manufacturing clusters across Punjab, Maharashtra, and Gujarat, small units are forced to halt operations periodically because working capital is tied up in unrefunded ITC claims. 

India cannot build a $5 trillion economy on the backs of broken small businesses. The GST was designed to liberate commerce, not strangle it. The Inverted Duty Structure represents an unfinished reform that demands urgent completion.

Empower India urges the GST Council to take corrective action at its next meeting. The cost of delay is measured not in policy papers – but in shuttered factories and lost livelihoods.

New Delhi, May 14: Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath called upon members of the state Cabinet to use public transport at least one day a week and conveyed the message of developing a new work culture in governance based on austerity, energy conservation, and exemplary public conduct.

He also urged ministers to reduce their vehicle fleets by up to 50 percent. Along with this, the Chief Minister directed all ministers and senior officials of the state government to avoid foreign travel for the next six months except under unavoidable circumstances.

Addressing the first meeting of the expanded Cabinet held after the Cabinet expansion, the Chief Minister issued several important directives aimed at making governance and administration more accountable, disciplined, and resource-sensitive.

He said, “Under the current global circumstances, fuel conservation is not merely an economic necessity but also a national responsibility.”

Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal to minimize the consumption of petrol and diesel, the Chief Minister said, “The Uttar Pradesh Cabinet should itself set an example.”

The Chief Minister said that ministers should use facilities such as the metro, buses, e-rickshaws, carpooling, or bicycles on a designated day each week so that a positive message reaches society and inspires the public.

Stressing the maximum use of digital and virtual platforms in governance and administrative work, he directed that inter-district meetings, training programs, and meetings of the standing committees of the Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council should, as far as possible, be conducted in hybrid mode.

The Chief Minister directed that air conditioners and lifts in the Secretariat and Directorate offices should be used strictly based on necessity. He instructed that AC temperatures be maintained between 24 and 26 degrees Celsius and emphasized maximizing the use of natural light.

He also stressed promoting public transport, rail travel, and carpooling, along with adopting work-from-home arrangements at least two days a week in institutions employing more than 50 people.

Describing energy conservation and environmental balance as priorities of governance, the Chief Minister directed the wider use of solar energy and the expansion of public awareness campaigns to residential colonies, schools, and colleges. He also emphasized the need for a new policy to promote electric vehicles and encourage clean and energy-efficient transport systems.

The Chief Minister also conveyed the message of austerity and support for the local economy in social events. He said, “Domestic venues should be prioritized for weddings and other ceremonies to curb unnecessary expenditure and promote local employment.”

Stressing the need to implement the spirit of ‘Vocal for Local’ in practice, he said that ministers should use only those items as gifts that are manufactured in Uttar Pradesh.

He added, “Under the ‘One District One Product’ scheme, the state offers a rich range of high-quality local products that should be given preference.”

The Chief Minister directed that PNG connections be prioritized over LPG cylinders and said that the necessary policy changes should be implemented immediately.

He also emphasized the need to connect commercial LPG users with PNG.

Calling for minimal use of imported goods, the Chief Minister stressed the need to promote oilseed production, natural farming, and balanced use of chemical fertilizers. He also called for reducing edible oil consumption and increasing public awareness on the issue.

Alongside this, he appealed for discouraging unnecessary imports of gold and turning rainwater conservation into a mass movement.

At the beginning of the meeting, the Chief Minister formally introduced the new ministers inducted into the Cabinet. He said, “Public representatives carry the highest level of accountability within the system of governance and that people evaluate the work of leaders and ministers every day.”

He remarked that the conduct of a public representative itself becomes the biggest message for the public.

Addressing the newly appointed ministers, the Chief Minister said that they have been entrusted with a major responsibility and that comparatively little time remains before the upcoming Assembly elections. Therefore, all ministers will have to deliver outstanding performance within a limited period.

He advised the new ministers to maintain regular dialogue with senior and experienced ministers to learn and develop an effective working style. He also directed Cabinet ministers to take the views of their junior ministers into consideration on departmental policy matters.