New Delhi, March 8 (IANS) President Ram Nath Kovind on Friday lauded the government for taking several steps "to defeat the menace of black money" and described IRS officers as "frontline soldiers in this battle".

Addressing officer trainees of the 72nd batch of the Indian Revenue Service (IRS) who called on him at Rashtrapati Bhavan, Kovind said that in recent years the government had taken many initiatives to clean the financial system and wipe out black money.

"IRS officers are frontline soldiers in this battle," he said.

"Steps such as demonetization, the Income Declaration Scheme and amendment to the Benami Transactions Prohibition Act have demonstrated the will of the people and the government to make our economy more transparent," he said.

The President said that India was the world's fastest growing major economy. Over the coming decade, its GDP was expected to more than double.

This, he said, would increase tax revenues and enhance challenges for Revenue Officers. "They will need to address the challenges while facilitating the economic engine of our country."

The President said that common people had great expectations from public servants, particularly from IRS officers.

--IANS mr/