Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday inaugurated the new campus of the National Academy of Customs, Indirect Taxes and Narcotics (NACIN) at Palasamudram in Sri Satya Sai district of Andhra Pradesh.
He congratulated those involved in the NACIN project and recalled the Puttaparthi region’s association with spirituality, nation building and good governance, representing the heritage of India. He termed the spiritualist Sri Satya Sai Baba, freedom fighter Kallur Subba Rao, renowned puppetry artist Dalavai Chalapathi Rao and the good governance of Vijayanagara empire as sources of inspiration from the region.
Mr. Modi quoted verses referring to the tax system as mentioned in the ancient scriptures. Quoting Ramcharit Manas, he highlighted the welfare aspect of taxation and every paisa received as tax would go into the welfare of the people to stimulate prosperity.
Referring to the tax reforms initiated during the last 10 years, he said the introduction of the modern system of GST that enabled simplified income tax and faceless assessment. “All these reforms have resulted in record tax collection,” Mr. Modi observed, adding that the tax reforms after 2014 had actually resulted in tax savings of about ₹2.5 lakh crore for the citizens.
As the day was observed as ‘Thiruvalluvar Day’ across Tamil Nadu, he quoted the great Tamil saint and underlined the role of revenue officers in collecting taxes that lead to people’s welfare in a democracy. “The money collected as tax is returned to the people and this good governance is the message of Ram Rajya,” he concluded.
Earlier, Mr. Modi visited Veerabhadra temple in Lepakshi, heard the verses of Ranganatha Ramayanam and participated in Bhajan Keertan with devotees. As the day marked the ‘Ram Jatayu Samvad’ that had taken place nearby, the Prime Minister said that he was observing an 11-day ‘Anushtan’ ahead of the Pran Prathista at Ayodhya temple.
Governor S. Abdul Nazeer, Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs Chairman Sanjay Kumar Agarwal were present.
The national-level institute will train officials of the Indian Revenue Service (Customs and Indirect Taxes) as well as central allied services, state and partner nations, with special focus on use of new-age technologies such as Augmented & Virtual Reality, Blockchain and Artificial Intelligence for training and capacity building.
