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New Delhi: The
government Monday released the much-awaited white paper on black
money, which makes a strong pitch for setting up the Lokpal and
Lokayuktas but carries no official estimate of the illicit money
stashed by Indians abroad.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee tabled the white paper in the
Lok Sabha.
The paper carries no estimates on the quantum of money stashed
abroad, but quotes figures released by different agencies.
"There are no reliable estimates of black money generation or
accumulation, neither is there an accurate well-accepted
methodology for making such estimation," the paper said.
It pointed out that among the estimates made so far, there is no
uniformity, unanimity, or consensus about the best methodology or
approach to be used for this purpose.
"There have also been wide variations in the figures reported,
which further serves to highlight the limitations of the different
methods adopted."
The paper made a strong pitch for setting up the Lokpal and
Lokayuktas to effectively deal with the menace of black money and
other corrupt practices.
In the foreword to the report, Mukherjee pointed out that in this
past year the government has brought five bills -- namely, the
Lokpal Bill, the Judicial Accountability Bill, the Whistle Blowers
Bill, the Grievance Redressal Bill and the Public Procurement
Bill. These are at various stages of consideration by the
parliament.
The paper said the general perception that Indians have the
highest amount of money stashed in Swiss banks was not correct.
Referring to Swiss National Bank's figures, it said bank deposits
of Indians in Swiss banks have declined from Rs.23,373 crore in
year 2006 to Rs.9,295 crore in year 2010.
This shows that Indians hold just 0.13 percent of the total bank
deposits of citizens of all countries in Swiss banks in 2010. In
2006, the figure was 0.29 percent.
"These figures are the only authentic information available at
this stage about Indian money lying in foreign banks. From these
figures, it can be safely concluded that the common belief that
Indians hold the maximum deposits in Swiss banks is not correct,"
the paper said.
The white paper also does not carry the study report of the expert
committee, which have been set up by the government to study the
menace.
The government has commissioned a study to figure out the quantum
of black money stashed away abroad.
The study is being separately conducted by three government-run
institutes - the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy,
the National Institute of Financial Management and the National
Council for Applied Economic Research.
"I would have been happy if I could have included the conclusions
of reports of three premier institutions that have been tasked to
quantify the magnitude of black money. These reports are likely to
be received by the end of this year," Mukherjee said in the
foreword to the paper.
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