New Delhi: Due to the Narendra Modi government's efforts to bring down non-performing assets (NPAs) in banks and financial institutions, Rs 4 lakh crore has been recovered through insolvency and bankruptcy proceedings since 2014 which is a "major achievement," Union minister Anurag Thakur said on Friday.
Addressing the 70th annual function of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), the junior finance minister said when Modi assumed office in 2014 in his first term, NPA stood Rs 52 lakh crore.
Due to the strong action taken by the financial institutions by initiating legal proceedings and following due process on the orders of the Central government, NPAs were brought down to Rs 18 lakh crore. The legal proceedings further continued wherein Rs 4 lakh crore was recovered, he said.
Thakur appealed to the chartered accountants to help the government by asking their clients to end litigations as much as possible and ensure that such financial institutions got back their dues.
"It is our collective responsibility to help in further boosting the country's economy," Thakur said.
The minister also announced that the government planned to issue PAN cards just by seeking Aadhaar details.
The "faceless assessment scheme" for the tax-payers has already been introduced, he said and listed out various pro-tax payer friendly schemes of the government.
Claiming a "steady economic growth" under Narendra Modi's rule, the minister of state for finance said there was no doubt that the country would become a five trillion dollar economy by 2025 and "nobody can stop it from achieving the target".
He asked the chartered accountants to help the government corruption and detect fraudsters.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said CAs were not only the backbone of nation's economy but are also excellent administrators, strategists and advisors.
He appreciated ICAI for its way of conducting CA exams and said nobody has been able to find any defect in its assessment system in the last 70 years.
"CAs are the nation's financial guide, guardians of its treasury as well as experts on effective financial management. In this globalised world, it is vital that CAs, as conscience-keepers of economy, provide critical analysis of schemes and programmes that have a far-reaching impact on nation's economy," Birla said.
"The CAs are reliable ambassadors of the country's economic system and their signatures on any account bear testimony of truthfulness," he said.
PTI Report
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