Govt may reap 3 trillion rupee budget gain on anti-graft cash ban

Mumbai

PRIME Minister Narendra Modi's biggest move to fight tax evasion and graft can add US$45 billion to India's budget, or about three times the size of Iceland's economy.

Mumbai-based brokerage Edelweiss Securities predicts the government's surprise crackdown on high-value currency notes will uncover three trillion rupees (S$63 billion) in black money, which is cash that's stashed away to avoid tax. ICICI Securities Primary Dealership is even more optimistic, pegging the figure at as much as 4.6 trillion rupees.