PTI
New Delhi
BJP chief Amit Shah on Saturday said demonetisation has led to expansion of formal economy and brought black money into the government's treasury which is being used for people's benefit. With demonetisation inviting fresh criticism from opposition parties after RBI figures disclosed that over 99 per cent of banned notes were deposited with banks, Shah told a FICCI meeting that the note ban was an example of the hard decisions the government had taken to boost the economy.
"I definitely believe that the formal economy has increased due to demonetisation. Money lying at various places is now part of the economy," he said, adding that this government does not link policy decisions with vote bank.
Shah said the number of total direct tax payers had doubled in the last three years from 3.7 crore to 6.4 crore and opening of 30 crore new bank accounts expanded the formal economy and linked every body with it.
He also asked the business community to "encash" the "Brand India" built by the government globally and claimed that the NDA dispensation's most significant contribution was that it had transformed the "scale of thinking".
Industrial sector should use this opportunity to expand globally, he said, mentioning African countries as having immense investment potential. Shah also touched upon the issue of banks' non-performing assets, seen as a drag on the economy, saying the Modi government had inherited these bad loans and none of them happened during its tenure.
It was a very "courageous move" of the Modi dispensation to ask banks to bring NPAs to their books, Shah said.
