The Hindu: Dehi: Thursday,
April 03, 2014.
The
much-touted study to assess quantum of black money stashed in India and abroad
has been completed by one of the three institutes engaged by the Finance
Ministry about three years back.
Replying to
an RTI query, the Ministry, however, declined to share a copy of the study
saying it would “cause a breach of privilege of Parliament”.
Three
institutes 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 - were roped in
by the Finance Ministry to complete their task within 18 months time.
“Report from
one institute has been received and reports from the remaining two institutes
are awaited,” the Finance Ministry said in reply to the RTI query.
Further
details cannot be made available at this point of time as the information is
exempted under Section 8 (1) (c) and Section 8 (1) (e) of the RTI Act, 2005.
“The report
is yet to be examined by the government and action thereof is yet to be laid
before the Parliament,” it said.
The Sections
bar disclosure of information which would cause a breach of privilege of
Parliament and those 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 was
ordered in March 2011 when the nation was debating on the amount of unaccounted
income with figures projected by politicians and civil society in crores of
rupees.
“At present,
there is no exact estimate of the amount of black money stashed abroad by
Indians available with the Government of India,” the Ministry said.
The different
estimates on quantum of black money range between $ 500 billion to $ 1,400
billion. A study by Global Financial Integrity has estimated the illicit money
outflow to be $ 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 in a press release issued on May 29, 2011.
“So far there
are no reliable estimates of black money generated and held within and outside
the country,” it had said.
The issue of
black money has attracted a lot of public and media attention and is a key
election issue.
As per the
Terms of Reference (ToR) of the study, it was to assess or survey unaccounted
income and wealth and profile the nature of activities engendering money
laundering both inside and outside the country.
The study was
to identify important sectors of economy in which unaccounted money is
generated and examine causes and conditions that result in generation of
unaccounted money.
It was to
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, according to the Ministry’s statement.
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.
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