<h1>State leaders hail GST overhaul: tax consolidation, two-slab rates, essentials zero-rated, lower rates aiding farmers, MSMEs, textiles</h1> State leadership praised recent Goods and Services Tax (GST) reforms as creating a new economic era, highlighting regulatory changes: consolidation of multiple tax and cess types into GST, simplification of GST slabs from four to two, zero-rating of essential goods, reduced rates on many items (including agricultural machinery to 5%), and exemption of health and life insurance. Officials claim these measures lower consumer prices, benefit MSMEs, textiles and agriculture, and produce quantifiable savings for farmers (estimated per-tractor and aggregate state savings). The statements frame the reforms as advancing social security and development goals while emphasizing projected economic and sectoral impacts.