Free Press Journal: New Delhi: Friday, September 22, 2017.
The Finance
Ministry says it is examining three reports on the quantum of black money held
by Indians inside the country and abroad that were commissioned by the previous
UPA regime and submitted more than three years ago.
Responding to
an RTI query filed by a PTI correspondent, the ministry said information on the
findings of the reports was “exempt from disclosure” under the RTI Act as they
were under examination and were yet to be “taken to” Parliament. The studies
were conducted by the Delhi-based National Institute of Public Finance and
Policy (NIPFP) and National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) as
well as the National Institute of Financial Management (NIFM) in Faridabad.
The NIPFP,
NCAER and NIFM reports were received by the government on December 30, 2013,
July 18, 2014, and August 21, 2014, respectively. The present Narendra Modi-led
BJP government came to power in May 2014.
“Information
is exempt from disclosure under Section 8 (1) (c) of the RTI Act, 2005, as the
study reports received from the three institutes are under examination of the
government and the same alongwith the government’s response on these reports
are yet to be taken to the Parliament through the Standing Committee on
Finance,” the finance ministry said in its reply. The Section bars
“information, the disclosure of which would cause a breach of privilege of
Parliament or the State Legislature”. These reports have already been submitted
to the Standing Committee.
Mind-boggling
numbers
A recent
study by the US-based think tank Global Financial Integrity (GFI) said an
estimated $770 billion in black money entered India during 2005-2014. Nearly $165
billion in illicit money exited the country during the same period, the global
financial watchdog had said.
.JPG)
.JPG)
