Demonetisation will help increase govt revenue: Arun Jaitley

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley expressed hope that demonetisation will help increase government revenue and lower fiscal deficit, leading to higher expenditure on defence and rural infrastructure. 

Speaking at the launch of the Digi Dhan Mela in New Delhi, Mr Jaitley said with the junking of the old high-value currency, the parallel economy has become part of the formal system, which leads to higher accountability and taxation that boost economic growth and



transparency. 

He illustrated this point by saying that shifting towards less cash economy will help bridge fiscal deficit and bring about improvement in rural India. He said the move will augment capability of administration, increase defence expenditure and improve spending on the poor.Mr Jaitley said anonymity of money is gone with demonetisation as the money has come into the banking framework. The banks, in turn, can extend more loans and help build a better economy, he said.