Bhopal: Era of 'corruption and scams' before 2014

Bhopal : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said the era of "corruption and scams" prevailed before 2014 when the rights of the poor and their money were robbed, but now every penny is directly reaching their bank accounts. Citing a NITI Aayog report, Modi said 13.50 crore Indians have come out of BPL (below poverty line)

category in five years. The data shows an increasing number of people are paying taxes, which shows their trust that the government is putting their money to good use, he said. The prime minister was virtually addressing the training-cum-orientation programme of newly-appointed teachers at the CM Rise Government Mahatma Gandhi Higher Secondary School in Madhya Pradesh capital Bhopal.

He said positive news started coming up in the first year of “Amrit Kaal” itself, which shows the increasing prosperity and decreasing poverty.

“The NITI Aayog report said that 13.50 crore Indians have come out of BPL (below poverty line) category in five years. The number of Income Tax returns shows that the average income of Indians has increased during the past nine years to Rs 13 lakh from Rs 4 lakh in 2014,” Modi said.

People are moving from lower income group to upper-income group, he added. Modi said data shows all sectors are gaining strength and generating employment opportunities. “The faith of citizens has been increasing. They are coming up to deposit their tax with the faith that their every penny will be spent on the country’s development,” he said.

The country’s economy has now reached the 5th spot in the world from the 10th position in 2014, he said. “The rights of the poor and their money were being looted even before reaching their accounts before 2014 in the era of corruption and scams. Now, every penny is reaching their accounts directly,” the prime minister said.

He said the plugging of “leakage in the system” means more money being spent on the welfare of the poor. The PM said investment has generated employment, and after 2014, five lakh new common service centres have been set up in India, providing employment to several people. “The teachers getting their appointment letters today are joining the important responsibility of teaching in this historic period.