Govt dealing strictly with corruption, cronyism: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said despite the global economy facing downturns, India has seen minimum impact due to the government's pro-active steps. He said the Modi government was dealing strictly with both corruption and cronyism, adding his government had focussed on "simplification, rationalisation and transparency". The Prime Minister, during The Economic Times Global Business Summit, said the government was working at four levels to achieve the $5 trillion economy target -- collaboration, competition and creation of wealth.

The PM, talking about the initiatives taken by his government on replacing old laws, said: "To promote fair competition, we are dealing strictly with both corruption and cronyism. Be it banking, FDI (foreign direct investment) policies or allotment of natural resources -- cronyism is being removed from every sphere. We have focussed on simplification, rationalisation and transparency."

On India's role in the global economy, the PM said the country had become a major part of the global economic system. "Recently, we have become the worlds' fifth-largest economy. Six-year-ago, we were at the 11th spot. In such a short time, we have come to the fifth spot," he said.

Referring to the 'Vivad Se Vishwas' scheme, the PM said his government de-criminalised several provisions of the Companies Act. The bill, passed in the Lok Sabha recently, aims to resolve 4.83 lakh direct tax cases worth Rs 9.32-lakh crore that is currently locked up in various appellate forums such as Commissioner (Appeals), ITAT, High Courts, Supreme Court and Debt Recovery Tribunals.

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Talking about new global challenges, the PM said the world was facing a huge challenge in the form of 'Novel Coronavirus'. "We have to face this challenge together and emerge victorious with the resolution power of Collaborate to Create," he added. Listing out his government's achievements, the PM said in the last six years, the pace of highways construction, railway electrification, capacity addition in airports, increased cargo handling at our ports had led major economic boost.

The Prime Minister said India was among the major countries where corporate tax was the lowest and had improved 77 ranks in the Ease of Doing Business rankings in just five years. "In 2019, the Foreign Direct Investment of about 48 Billion Dollar came in the country. This growth was more than 16 per cent. Similarly, Private Equity and Venture Capital Investment of 19 Billion Dollars came to India last year. It also grew more than 53%," he added.

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