At midnight on Friday, India will introduce nationwide goods and services tax with Prime Minister Narendra Modi taking centre-stage in parliament for what will be the country's biggest tax reform in the 70 years since independence from British colonial rule.
The GST will replace about 20 federal and state taxes such as factory-gate duties, service and local taxes while unifying $2 trillion economy and 1.3 billion people into a single market.
Modi who swept to power in 2014 promising reforms to get India's lumbering economy moving, will use the occasion to make a landmark speech.
Somewhat predictably, not everyone in
