Nearly two months following the demonetisation drive, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation in a special speech on New Year's Eve...
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
New Delhi: In his special address to the nation on New Year's Eve, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said it was unacceptable that only 24 lakh people in the country have declared that they earn over Rs 10 lakh a year.
"In the country only 24 lakh people accept that their income is more than Rs 10 lakh. Can any one accept it," Modi said in his address to the nation on New Year's eve.
"We all see big buildings and cars around us. In the big cities, one can find many people with more than Rs 10 Lakh income," he said.
The Prime Minister said this fight for honesty needed to be strengthened: "It is natural to discuss what will happen with the corrupt. Law will take its own course."
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PM Modi also said that thousands of people had written to him about the hardships they faced due to demonetisation but the November 8 decision proved that Indians wanted freedom from corruption.
"The corruption had made the people of the country to bow before of it without their will. And they wanted to come out of it," Modi said in his address to the nation on the New Year's eve.
Terming demonetisation as a "historic cleansing ritual", Modi said people of the country had taken the biggest "shudhi yagna" after Diwali.
The Prime Minister said the government will focus on rural areas to remove hardships. He termed the hardships and sacrifices that citizens endured were for a bright future.
PM Modi said that normalising banking services, especially in the country's rural and remote areas, was a priority in the New Year.
"Efforts are on to normalise banking services in the New Year as soon as possible," Modi said in his address to the nation on New Year's Eve.
"All the people concerned have been directed to function proactively to normalise banking services, especially in rural and remote areas. They have been told to weed out even the smallest of weaknesses to ensure that problems of villagers and farmers are solved," Modi added.
Security of the honest is government's priority in battle against the corrupt, said PM Modi. He also promised that corrupt bank officials won't be spared. The PM claimed that all roads for the dishonest have been closed, due to the demonetisation drive.
He also announced that housing loans upto Rs 12 lakh will get subvention of 3 per cent. 3 lakh Kisan credit cards will be converted to Ru Pay cards. The Prime Minister also said that the government will guarentee loan for small traders upto Rs 2 crore. He also promised a 60 days interest waiver for farm loans taken from co-op banks.
PM Modi also said that the senior citizens of the country would get eight per cent interest rate on fixed deposits up to Rs 7.5 lakh.
"For senior citizens, we have decided that up to the amount of Rs 7.5 lakh in fixed deposits for 10 years, they would get the interest rate of eight per cent," Modi said in his address to the nation of New Year's Eve.
He also said that the amount earned in interest can be withdrawn on monthly basis too.
The Prime Minister further announced that the government would give the rebate of three and four percent on interest rates to the people who seek loans to build their houses in 2017.
"To make the people of the middle class and the poor to buy or build their homes, the government has brought to schemes under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana," Modi said in his address to the nation on New Year's Eve.
He said a concession of four per cent will be given to those take a loan of up to Rs 9 lakh and three percent on Rs 12 lakh.
The Prime Minister also said that the government would also build 33 per cent more houses in the villages under the Pradhan Mantri Grameen Awas Yojana.
Modi also said that those who want to modify their building or houses, would get three per cent concession on loan of upto Rs 2 lakh.
A scheme to provide pregnant women financial aid of Rs 6,000 as part of efforts to bring down the maternal mortality rate was also announced by the PM.
"The scheme will be applicable across the over 650 districts of the country. Under this scheme a pregnant woman will be provided with Rs 6,000 for covering hospital admission, vaccination and nutritional food," said Modi in his special address to the nation on New Year's Eve.
"The money will be directly transferred to pregnant women bank accounts," he said, adding that it "will greatly help in bringing down maternal mortality rate".
Currently the scheme is being implemented on a pilot basis in 53 districts with the benefit amount being Rs 4,000.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also called for all political parties in India to sit together and discuss ways to bring about transparency in their finances.
"It is time that all politicians and political parties respect the feelings of the honest citizens and understand their anger," Modi said in his address to the nation on New Year's Eve.
"It is true that political parties have from time to time made efforts to streamline the system and accepted limitations... today, there is the need that political parties rise above 'holier than thou' attitude and sit together to increase transparency and get rid of black money and corruption," the Prime Minister said.
He said it is also time to debate holding of simultaneous Lok Sabha and assembly elections.
He also declared the enhancement of credit guarantee scheme for small, medium and micro enterprises (SME) for loans up to Rs 2 crore.
"We have decided to enhance the credit guarantee scheme (credit guarantee fund for micro units development refinance agency or MUDRA) for small business so that they can access more funds to fulfil their growth potential," the Prime Minister said in his address to the nation.
"In this regard, guarantees for loans up to Rs 2 crore will be given by the government. The earlier limit of the scheme was Rs 1 crore."
Prime Minister Modi addressed the nation a day after the nearly two-month long demonetisation exercise came to end.
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