India Decoding Politics in conversation with Raghav Chadha’, organised by ALFA Network recently, saw the politician breeze through Calcutta for an engaging session with members of the organisation. Held at Taj Bengal, the almost one-hour session saw the recently appointed chairman of Rajya Sabha Committee on Petitions in the hot seat taking questions on various issues like GST compliance, land records and property rights, labour laws and more, in the signature calm and composed Raghav Chadha style! Here are some highlights from the session.

From a chartered accountant to joining a political revolution:

I was born and raised in Delhi and went on to become a CA. While I was studying in London School of Economics, I was setting up my wealth management firm in London. During that time, there was an uprising to have an anti-corruption legislation in India. There was demand of a few solutions that would eliminate institutional corruption from the Indian government. So I, like millions, joined that movement. A political party was born out of it and I became a part of it.

Joining a political party was never my goal. A lot of my immediate family are serving/have served in the armed forces. I grew up watching men in uniform and wanted to join the Indian Army. But that never happened. So, I took the route of politics to serve the country. It came at the cost of sacrificing my career as a CA. So that’s been my journey.

GST compliance, GST framework for small businesses and GST 2.0 reforms

The act of subsuming the entire indirect tax spectrum and bringing them together under the GST family was a revolutionary and mammoth task. Since the very first day I have been a vocal supporter of GST. The most ideal form of GST, which has a single rate of tax, is the dream. Followed by an extremely simple transparent compliance mechanism where the people who run businesses don’t end up spending hours filling up their tax paperwork.

The intent is to make calculation of GST as simple as UPI payment, which everybody uses — from a vegetable vendor in Varanasi to a manufacturer working out of Pune, by streamlining of the structure. A common issue was observed in the enforcement of GST 2.0 rationalisation. While the rates of GST were reduced, most companies did not reduce the prices. Thus the benefit of the reduction of GST was not passed on to the consumer. The intent is perfect but enforcement is not and it needs some more work. Simplification is something the government is working on. Not only for the rate of tax, but also for returns.

Labour Laws

In November 2025 came one of the most defining moments in India’s legislative history because labour reforms that were pending for more than three decades were implemented and enforced and four labour codes were brought in. They walk a very tight rope in balancing the interest of the labourers but not at the cost of entrepreneurs and businesses.

When I said I will not let exploitation of the labourers, the genesis of that statement was the Blinkits, Zomatos and Swiggys of the world who were exploiting the delivery boys, who were not even defined as gig workers prior to this legislature. The implementation of the rules, which are still in the draft stage over the next few months, will give these gig workers and labourers a support system and social security net that they deserve.

Of course, it must not come at a cost to the entrepreneurs. However, while we all believe that India’s GDP must increase, we also believe that wealth distribution must happen and the per capita income has to increase and that can happen when the people at the bottom of the pyramid have a support system that law provides. If we work towards labour dignity, provide more to them, work towards the welfare of the labour, the retention and productivity of the labour improves.

Tax reforms that would send a positive signal to every wealth creator/ investor

We must respect and reward patient domestic capital. We have seen FIIs and FPIs pull out a lot of money from the Indian market. But the Indian markets are still afloat because it is the domestic middle class, the SIP investors who have backed the stocks and Indian business strongly. So, it is upon the government to reward them. The only way to do that is to reduce taxes. One of my proposals in Budget 2026 was to make long-term capital gain tax for the domestic investor zero.

On Women’s Reservation Bill

Women have fundamentally no representation in India’s politics. This was a great move to give 50 per cent of India’s population at least a 33 per cent representation in legislatures. Unfortunately, it did not go through, but I do hope in the near future we see it going through. It will be a revolutionary move.