Consider the following items : Cereal grains hulled Chicken eggs cooked Fish processed and canned Newspapers containing advertising…

Under the GST law in India, certain basic food items and publications are exempted from tax to protect low-income consumers and to ensure dissemination of information. Hulled cereal grains fall squarely within the scope of exempted foodstuffs because they are primary agricultural produce in a minimally processed form. The exemption applies to cereal grains that have been hulled or cleaned but not substantially altered by processing; this keeps basic staples outside the tax net. Therefore item 1 is correctly treated as exempt under GST.

Chicken eggs that are not cooked are treated as an essential food item and typically attract exemption under GST provisions relating to primary agricultural products and food. The rationale is similar to that for cereal grains: eggs are a staple protein source and their basic form is not a manufactured or processed good for the purposes of consumption tax. The exemption of eggs in their uncooked state reflects policy to keep essential nutrition affordable. The question includes cooked egg as item 2; while cooking could be considered a value addition, the standard tax treatment identifies eggs themselves as exempt, and typical classification for eggs preserves exemption for consumption-oriented basic eggs in many GST schedules.

Fish that has been processed and canned is different because the canning process constitutes substantial processing and packaging that converts the primary produce into a manufactured product. The additional processing, preservation and packaging raise the product into the taxable bracket under GST. Canned and processed seafood is sold as a value-added packaged commodity and thus is not covered by exemptions intended for unprocessed or minimally processed food items. Hence item 3 is taxable under GST and is not part of the exemption list relevant to this question.

Newspapers, including newspapers containing advertising material, are explicitly exempt from GST. The policy rationale recognizes newspapers and periodicals as important vehicles for information, education and public discourse, and even if they contain advertisements this does not alter their exempt status. The inclusion of advertising material does not convert the newspaper into a commercial service attracting GST; the printed newspaper remains outside the GST net. Therefore items 1, 2 and 4 are exempt while item 3 is taxable, making option c the correct choice in accordance with the verified answer provided.