As part of election surveillance, the Income Tax
Department has been conducting searches across Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.
On March 16, the IT department conducted searches in
five premises belonging to five entities acting as cash handlers beyond their
regular business leading to the seizure of ₹5.32 crores in cash.
On the following day, search and seizure operations on
businesses engaged in yarn trade, PPE kits supply, bags, and baby care kits to
various state governments. Unaccounted cash amounting to ₹11.50 crore and
unaccounted income in a total of ₹80 crores were seized by IT. Investments in
lands and expansion of the business were made using the unaccounted income.
In contrast, financial distress and the coronavirus
has impacted 32 million Indians pushing them out of the middle-class slab. Our
country has seen a sharp increase in poverty during 2020 than in other
countries due to lockdowns. According to a report by Pew Research Centre,
around 57 million people joined the middle-income group between 2011 and 2019.
