NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday addressed G20 Anti-Corruption Ministerial Meeting in Kolkata virtually, stating that India has a strict policy of zero tolerance against corruption. 

"India has a strict policy of zero tolerance against corruption," PM Modi said while underlining that India is leveraging technology and e-governance to create a transparent and accountable ecosystem. 

PM Modi further referred to the writings of Tagore and cautioned against greed as it prevents us from realizing the truth. He also touched upon the ancient Indian Upanishads that strive for ‘Ma Gridha’, which translates to ‘let there be no greed’. 

PM Modi further underlined that the highest impact of corruption is borne by the poor and the marginalized. "It affects resource utilization, distorts markets, impacts service delivery and ultimately diminishes people's quality of life," he added. 

Referring to Kautilya in the Arthashastra, Modi said that it is the government's duty to enhance the State's resources to maximize the welfare of its people. "The need to combat corruption to achieve this goal and said that it is the sacred duty of the government towards its people," he said. 

He further mentioned that leakages and gaps in welfare schemes and government projects are being plugged in. "Hundreds of million people in India have received direct benefit transfers into their bank accounts amounting to more than 360 billion dollars and helping save over 33 billion dollars," he added.

“Our government e-Marketplace, or GeM portal, has brought greater transparency in government procurement,” he added. 

Speaking about the enactment of the Economic Offenders Act in 2018, PM Modi said that the government is aggressively pursuing economic offenders and informed about the recovery of assets worth over 1.8 billion dollars from economic offenders and fugitives. 

He also spoke about the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) which has helped attach the assets of offenders worth more than USD 12 billion since 2014.