Is India ready for GST? This survey finds out 55% population doesn't even know what it is

Amid the confusion over GST among the masses, a survey by short news app Way2online has made a few startling revelations. The report concludes that less than half the population of India; 45% to be precise, is aware of the new tax system. The remaining 55% is unaware of what GST is.

The report also highlights that a majority, with 58%, believes that GST is not good news to them. Adding to the insights, Raju Vanapala, CEO and Founder, Way2Online says, “Post the survey, we could easily conclude that there is a lot of uncertainty that smothers GST. While 59% of the urban audiences are aware of the bill; a whopping 80% assumes that there will be spike in prices or have no idea about its implications.

Here's a table on how other states responded on their understanding and familiarity on GST:
One of the key findings of the survey states that Telugu speaking states viz. Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, relatively show higher awareness on GST with over 64%. Despite such favourable numbers, the report also highlights that a majority, with 58%, believes that GST is not good news to them.

Adding to the insights, Raju Vanapala, CEO and Founder, Way2Online says, “Post the survey, we could easily conclude that there is a lot of uncertainty that smothers GST. While 59% of the urban audiences are aware of the bill; a whopping 80% assumes that there will be spike in prices or have no idea about its implications. The conclusion of the survey underlines the severe need to address the questions of a common man, as more than half of India’s population is unaware of the ‘Good & Simple Tax’, which supposedly ‘Pro Poor’.

As a direct survey, Way2online sent a few questions related to GST to its app users, and following are the responses they received from different age groups:

On the whole, ‘Is India ready for GST?’ is the biggest question of the hour that needs to be addressed, as 55% of our total population is not aware of the tax regime that made its debut just a few days back. 60% of the population either assumes that GST is ‘Not Beneficial’ or ‘Has No Idea’. Lastly, 76% believes that there will be a surge in prices or have no idea about how GST will affect the commodity prices.

Even though GST aims to bring one Consolidated Indirect Tax to cover multiple Indirect Taxes and thereby lives up to the tag line ‘One India, One Tax’, the survey highlights a severe need to address the questions of the common man, as it shows that more than half of India’s population is unaware of the ‘Good & Simple Tax’ which is supposedly ‘Pro Poor’.

(Way2online currently has 13 million installs, 4.2 million monthly active users out of which a whopping 3,60,000 lakh users from across the country took the survey on GST between 26th to 30th June.)