Economic
Times: New Delhi: Tuesday, October 01,
2013.
The much-touted study to assess the estimate of
black money stashed in the country and abroad is yet to be completed despite an
assurance given by Government in 2011 to finish the task within 18 months.
The study was constituted in March 2011 when the
nation was debating on the amount of black money stashed within as well as
outside the country with figures being projected by politicians and civil
society to lakh of crores.
When approached with an RTI plea in July this
year, the application after doing rounds in various departments of the Finance
Ministry, was finally answered in the last week of August stating that
"the studies are yet to be completed by the institutes."
"Further details cannot be made available at
this point of time as the information is exempt under sections 8 (1)(c) (breach
of privilege of Parliament) and 8 (1)(e) of the Right to Information Act, 2005
since the report is yet to be submitted to the Government or action taken
thereof to Parliament," the reply said.
The other section prohibits making public
information which is available to a person in his fiduciary relationship,
unless the competent authority is satisfied that the larger public interest warrants
the disclosure of such information.
The study, ordered on March 21, 2011 by Finance
Ministry, is being conducted by Delhi-based National Institute of Public
Finance and Policy (NIPFP) and National Council of Applied Economic Research
(NCAER), and National Institute of Financial Management (NIFM) in Faridabad,
Haryana.
"This study will bring out the nature of
activities that encourage money laundering and its ramifications on national
security," the Ministry had said.
The issue
of black money has attracted a lot of public and media attention in the recent
past. "So far there is no reliable estimate of black money generated and
held within and outside the country," it had said in a press statement.
The different estimates on quantum of black money
range between USD 500 billion to USD 1,400 billion. A study by Global Financial
Integrity has estimated the illicit money outflow to be USD 462 billion.
"These estimates are based on various
unverifiable assumptions and approximations. Government has been seized of the
matter and has, therefore, commissioned these institutions to get an estimation
and sense of the quantum of illicit fund generated and held within and outside
the country," the Finance Ministry had said.
As per the Terms of Reference (ToR) of the study,
it will assess or survey unaccounted income and wealth and profile the nature
of activities engendering money laundering both inside and outside the country.
The study would also identify important sectors of
economy in which unaccounted money is generated and examine causes and
conditions that result in generation of unaccounted money.
It would examine the methods employed in
generation of unaccounted money and conversion of the same into accounted money
and suggest ways and means for detection and prevention of unaccounted money
and bringing the same into the mainstream of economy.
The study was also mandated to suggest methods to
be employed for bringing to tax unaccounted money kept outside India and to
estimate the quantum of non-payment of tax due to evasion by registered
corporate bodies, the ToR said.
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