Lucknow, Sept. 22 -- Chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday hailed the Goods and Services Tax (GST) reforms as Prime Minister Narendra Modi's historic Diwali gift to the nation and Uttar Pradesh,providing relief on essentials like educational materials, milk, curd, ghee, cheese and other food products, while imposing higher taxes on drugs and wasteful spending.

He was speaking at the launch of the NaMo Yuva Run for a drug-free India from his residence on the eve of the new GST rates coming into effect from Monday.

To support youth aspirations, exemptions were extended to bikes, cars, houses, steel, cement and other necessities, he added.

Flagging off the marathon from Kalidas Marg to the 1090 Intersection, the chief minister energise...