Fugitives, bank defaulters would not be spared: PM

Fugitives and bank defaulters will not be spared and brought to the book, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday.

"In the last four years, we have made several changes... Who would have thought four years ago that the main suspect of the helicopter scam Christian Michel will be brought to India?," Modi said addressing a summit hosted by a TV news channel in Mumbai.

During his address, Modi referred to the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 and the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018 - and said that the changes are helping in prosecuting those who had escaped law earlier.

This was an apparent reference to the cases involving Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi. "When companies used to be unable to repay loans... nothing used to happen.... they had a 'suraksha kavach' (shield) from 'khas parivar' (special family)... this has ended with IBC," he said.

Later, at separate functions in Thane and Pune districts - where he laid foundation stones of three Metro projects, the Prime Minister highlighted the development programmes of the government in the last four years.

"Zero-tolerance to corruption and shedding of 'chalta hai' culture has changed the outlook," he said.

Giving a push to infrastructure, Modi said that from villages to cities there needs to be an integration of next-generation infrastructure and transport sector.

He said that housing is a major priority for the government and the aim is to ensure that when India completes 75 years of Independence - everyone should have a shelter.