LD ADDRESS 2

Patil said the government "fully shares the concern about
the ill-effects of black money whether generated by evasion of
taxes on income earned legitimately or through illegal
activities.
"My government stands committed to tackling the menace
frontally. It requires diligent, sustained effort by all law
enforcement agencies, including those of state governments,"
she said.
The President said the government has taken many steps
to strengthen the legal framework, build new institutions and
improve capacity to tackle this problem.
A multi-disciplinary study has been commissioned to go
into its ramifications for national security and recommend a
suitable framework to tackle it.
The government is also working closely with the
international community, especially through the G-20, to
expedite the process of identification and recovery of such
money, she said.
Pointing out that India is now a member of the Financial
Action Task Force in recognition of its anti-money laundering
and anti-tax evasion measures, she said India has also gained
membership of the Eurasian group and the Task Force on
Financial Integrity and Economic Development.
"My government has taken steps to facilitate exchange of
information for tax purposes with such countries and entities
where Indian citizens have parked their money.
"The early results have been encouraging. These steps
have led to additional collection of taxes of Rs 34,601 crore
and detection of additional income of Rs 48,784 crore," Patil
said.
Referring to the internal security situation, the
President said the country has "gone through a difficult year"
as certain parts of the country suffered from "unacceptably
high levels of violence", especially areas affected by
Left-wing extremism and Kashmir valley.
However, in the rest of the country, she said, except
for two incidents of terror in Pune and Varanasi, the internal
security scenario has been largely under control.
The increase in police forces, with emphasis on
recruitment from areas affected by Left-wing extremism, has
begun to show results, she said.
The government has recently approved an integrated
action plan for 60 selected tribal and backward districts in
nine states in order to address the felt needs of the local
population, Patil said.
She said that the situation in the north Indian state
of Jammu and Kashmir has improved with a number of pro-active
measures taken by the central and state governments and
interlocutors have been engaged fruitfully in their
endeavours.
With regard to the North East, she said intensive
engagement with various groups has largely reduced violence in
those states. (MORE) PTI