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Shell companies are intrinsic to the global and Indian economy, but they require a high level of oversight to prevent them from becoming conduits for illicit financial flows

Reforms such as the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amended Act, India's Housing for All Mission, and easier FDI rules have all helped investor confidence

Lok Sabha Elections 2019: Rahul Gandhi asked why does not the Prime Minister answer questions, while Smriti Irani said that the Gandhi family's intervention in India's defences come from family interests.

The central government on Monday extended the deadline for linking of biometric identification Aadhaar to small savings schemes like post office deposits and Kisan Vikas Patra by three months to March 31

The Income-Tax Department is scrutinising in detail all unexplained credits and investments in personal as well as corporate income-tax filings and is even looking to invoke the Benami Act in many cases.

A whopping 60 per cent of the black money in the country is pumped into immovable assets in the form of both residential and commercial properties, according to news reports.

Income Tax Department has already informed the government that real estate is a major avenue for parking black money and any steps to tighten the vigil in this sector will help to fight the menace.

In its fight against black money, the Income Tax Department is matching the tax history of people with property registrations valued above Rs 30 lakh under the provisions of the anti-benami Act.

CBDT chairman Sushil Chandra said the I-T Department has attached 621 properties, including some bank accounts, and the total amount involved in these cases, being probed under the Benami Transactions Act, is about Rs 1,800 crore.

As per latest economic data released on Thursday, India's GDP growth came down to three-year low at 5.7 per cent during the April-June period. In the last quarter the growth rate was 6.1 per cent. And if we compare to last financial year, the economy was growing at the rate of 7.9 per cent.

As part of its crackdown on black money, tax officials may be going after people who own properties but don't file tax returns.

After making Aadhaar card mandatory for getting card and filing income tax returns, the government may soon be making the UIDAI-based authentication compulsory for real estate deals.

Referring to opposition of PAN-Aadhaar linkage, he said it is an \"effective anti-evasion measure\" and will get rid of multiple PAN cards and mismatch in income and expenditure, but it is being opposed \"in the name of privacy\".

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Monday said example needs to be set to create a deterrent against use of anonymous people to hide ill-gotten wealth, amid some politicians and their family members coming under the scanner for alleged benami deals.

Referring to opposition of PAN-Aadhaar linkage, he said it is an \"effective anti-evasion measure\" and will get rid of multiple PAN cards and mismatch in income and expenditure, but it is being opposed \"in the name of privacy\".

The department started initiating actions under the new Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Act, 2016 from November 1 last year. The law provides for a maximum punishment of seven years in jail and a fine.