Cabinet approves bill to help tackle unregulated deposit schemes

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a bill that will help tackle the menace of illicit deposit schemes in the country.

The banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Bill, 2019 will replace an ordinance promulgated by the government in February this year.

Briefing reporters after the cabinet meeting, Information, and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar said the poor had been hit by the cases of illicit chit funds and there was a need to curb the menace.

However, he said that the "genuine business deposits" made by friends and relatives have not been included in the provisions of the bill.

An official release said the bill will help tackle the menace of illicit deposit-taking activities in the country and check the regulatory gaps and lack of strict administrative measures that have been exploited to dupe poor and gullible people of their hard-earned savings.

A similar bill was passed by the Lok Sabha earlier this year but it could not be passed in the Rajya Sabha.