Rs 1.25 lakh cr black money confiscated by Modi govt: Ashwini Vaishnaw

Black money to the tune of "Rs 1.25 lakh crore" has been confiscated by the Modi government, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Monday and asserted transparency is a key aspect of the present dispensation's good governance model.

The minister for railways said similarly, to ensure transparency, benami properties worth Rs 4,300 crore were attached and registration of 1.75 lakh companies cancelled.

Talking to reporters at the Rail Bhawan, Vaishnaw said in his long public service, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has "perfected a model of good governance that started in Gujarat".

This is being now implemented at the national level, he said.

Modi before becoming prime minister in 2014 was the chief minister of Gujarat.

"This model of good governance, basically, keeps the common citizen at the centre of everything, and transparency as its key aspect," Vaishnaw, who also holds the electronics and information technology, and communications portfolios, said.

"Take a look at transparency, almost 1.75 lakh companies were cancelled...Rs 1.25 lakh crore of black money was confiscated and Rs 4,300 crore benami properties were also confiscated," he said.

The Modi government used digital technology to ensure transparency and the UPI system was created, the minister said.

"Rajiv Gandhi (former prime minister) once said if one rupee comes from Delhi only 15 paise reaches the ground, those days are now gone," he said.

In the pursuit to ensure transparency, the Modi government opened 45 crore Jan Dhan accounts and Rs 26 lakh crore was dispersed to beneficiaries, saving leakages of Rs 2.2 lakh crore, the minister said.

The government has adopted a transparent policy for allocations also and this has resulted in Rs 4.64 lakh crore from spectrum auction allocation and a record 778 metric tonnes of coal production, Vaishnaw said.

In recruitment processes, the government followed transparency and opted for computer-based tests and removed interviews for group C and group D employees, he said.