New Delhi:
The Paris attacks show how terrorists have come up with ways to meet their funding requirements because of which targeting the proceeds of crime is essential to tackling it, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday morning.
PM Modi had just last week, at the G20 summit in Antalya in Turkey which was held in the shadow of the Paris attacks,
pitched choking terror funding as an integral part of the plan to fight terrorism worldwide.
Funding includes smuggling of narcotics, bank robbery, vehicle robbery and state sponsored activity in failed states, Mr Modi said. He was speaking at the annual conference of the CBI and state anti-corruption branches and vigilance bureaus today.
PM Modi reiterated that corruption remains one of the principal challenges for the government and fighting it remains its top priority. "The government has taken significant steps to check corruption and (the) menace of black money in a short span of time," Mr Modi said, pointing out that the government had set up a special investigation team or SIT within days of coming to power.
He quoted the ancient Indian political philosopher Kautilya. "He had suggested confiscating of illegitimate wealth of corrupt officials," Mr Modi said. "The government is unsparing when it comes to fighting corruption."
Investigation agencies are limited by their national boundaries because of which the Interpol plays an important role in asset recovery, Mr Modi said adding that the government is committed to implementing global standards for exchange of information on a full reciprocal basis.