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  India   All India  26 Dec 2016  PM vows stiffer benami law, offers incentives too

PM vows stiffer benami law, offers incentives too

THE ASIAN AGE.
Published : Dec 26, 2016, 1:28 am IST
Updated : Dec 26, 2016, 11:33 am IST

Benami properties are those held in the name of other people and not those who actually finance them.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi shares his thoughts on his radio address 'Mann Ki Baat'. (Photo: PTI)
 Prime Minister Narendra Modi shares his thoughts on his radio address 'Mann Ki Baat'. (Photo: PTI)

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi vowed on Sunday that the government would soon put in place a strong law to effectively deal with “benami” properties, saying the move would bolster his “extraordinary war” on corruption and black money.  

“A benami property law came into being in 1988, but its rules were never framed… it was never notified… it remained dormant for years. We have retrieved it and turned it into an incisive law. We will soon make it operational,” he said.

Benami properties are those held in the name of other people and not those who actually finance them. “I assure you that this is not the end. This is just the beginning in our fight against corruption. We have to win this war. There is no question of stopping or going back in this fight,” he said.

In his monthly radio address Mann Ki Baat, the PM also unveiled two reward schemes — Lucky Grahak Yojana for customers and Digi Dhan Vyapaar Yojana for traders — to push cashless transactions.  

He said 1,5000 people would get daily rewards of Rs 1,000 each. Lakhs of rupees would be up for grabs during weekly draws. A bumper draw on April 14 will have rewards in crores of rupees.

This will be for those who go for cashless transactions and make a purchase worth more than Rs 50 but less than Rs 3,000 to keep special focus on the poor and the lower middle-class segments.

Lauding people’s role since his demonetisation move, he said, “They have not only braved hardships, but have also powerfully responded to those limited few who have been trying to mislead them.”

PM Modi’s announcement to a stunned nation on November 8 that he would scrap 86 per cent of the cash in circulation immediately led to a crippling cash crunch. He had then promised to restore normalcy by the end of the year, but long queues have stayed outside low-on-cash banks and ATM kiosks.

Mr Modi defended frequent changes in currency rules after the Centre recalled high-value bills, and said this was done to reduce people’s problems and defeat corrupt.

He said that those involved in “this murky enterprise of perfidy and corruption” had to be defeated as they were devising “newer wily ways and means” to thwart the government’s efforts every day.

“To counter these new offensives, we too have to devise appropriate new responses and antidotes. When the opponents keep trying out new tactics, we have to counteract decisively,” he said.

The PM said he was happy that awareness towards online payments was increasing, claiming there had been a 200 per cent to 300 per cent jump in cashless transactions in recent days.

He said that businessmen who adopt digital transactions and develop online payment processes in their trade activities would also get income tax rebate.

The Opposition has questioned the government’s move to promote digital transactions, calling it a cover-up for “no real black money windfall” for the economy weeks after Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes were withdrawn from circulation.

The PM said he wanted a good discussion on his demonetisation campaign and plans to clean up political funding, but Parliament remained disrupted which drew the President’s displeasure and people ire.

He said that many new influential people were being taken into custody, currency notes seized and raids carried out every day, and sought more public support in exposing the corrupt.

“The secret is that my sources of such information are people themselves. People are taking risks to expose such elements. Information being received from common citizens is many times higher than that being obtained through government machinery,” he said.

He said some rumours that political parties enjoy concessions and exemptions “are wrong and all are equal before law”.

Tags: narendra modi, mann ki baat, demonetisation
Location: India, Delhi, New Delhi