PM Modi announced two schemes for people undertaking mobile transactions.
Highlights
- Businessmen doing cashless transactions will get income tax rebate
- PM Modi also announced the "Lucky Grahak Scheme"
- Under the 100-day scheme, 15,000 people will get Rs 1000 each
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today launched two schemes to encourage mobile banking and digital payments on his monthly radio programme Mann ki Baat. Businessmen going in for cashless transactions will be given a rebate in income tax, the Prime Minister said.
He also announced a "Christmas gift" for those using mobile banking and making digital payments. Under the 100-day scheme, 15,000 people will get Rs 1,000 each for each day.
The bumper draw for the "Lucky Grahak Scheme" with rewards in crores, will be held on April 14, the birth anniversary of Baba Saheb Ambedkar, PM Modi said.
The scheme, the Prime Minister said, will be for the benefit of the poor and lower income groups -- only transactions between 50 and 3,000 Rs will be eligible for reward. Of the 30 crore Rupay Cards, 20 crore belong to poor families. These people, he said, can join this rewards scheme.
The announcement was part of the government's huge initiative following the ban on high denomination currency to sweep out corruption and black money. As the cash ban, the government had said, will flush out the illegal horde of currency collected over years in cellars and under beds, digital transactions will strike at the root of the practice of skipping taxes.
The Prime Minister said since November 8, when high denomination notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 were banned, cashless business has witnessed a rise of 200 to 300 per cent.
In this context, he also mentioned the efforts of the government of Assam, and organisations like the GNFC, who, he said, had started novel initiatives to popularize digital transactions, especially among the poor.
PM Modi also added that to root out corruption, the government has also reshaped the laws in 'Benami Property' Act, with strong provisions.