Modi to go tough on swindlers

In his first public comments on the 1.77 billion dollar fraud that hit India's second-biggest public sector bank Punjab National Bank. On Friday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that his government would take strict action against financial irregularities.

Modi also sought a tight surveillance system to guard against misuse of public funds and asked those entrusted with the task of monitoring to do their job with full diligence.

“I wish to make it clear…that this government will take stringent action against financial irregularities…The system will not accept irregular accumulation of public money. This is the basic mantra of New Economy — New Rule,” Modi said while addressing the Global Business Summit organised by The Economic Times newspaper in New Delhi on Friday night.

Besides the defrauding of Punjab National Bank allegedly by billionaire diamond merchant Nirav Modi, another businessman, Vikram Kothari, owner of a leading pen manufacturing company, has been arrested for loan defaults of over Rs 3,500 crore.

Modi said that the government had taken special efforts to track black money for which it had formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate alleged manipulations by importers and exporters.

The prime minister highlighted his government's achievements and said that India is now enabling a revival in the global economy through faster growth.

He spoke about the record improvement in ease of doing business in India since the BJP-led government took charge in 2014. He also highlighted the efforts that have been taken to control fiscal deficit and current account deficit even as FDI and foreign exchange reserves have moved up.