White paper gives no estimate of black money

New Delhi:  The government on 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 amount 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 estimations," 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."

Legislation

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 the past year the government has brought five bills — namely, the Lokpal Bill, the Judicial Accountability Bill, the Whistleblowers Bill, the Grievance Redressal Bill and the Public Procurement Bill. These are at various stages of consideration in the parliament.

The paper said the general perception that Indians have the highest amount of money stashed in Swiss banks was not correct.