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'White Paper' on black money placed in Parliament by Pranab |
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday
tabled the much-awaited 'White Paper' on black money in the Lok Sabha, which provides
information on black money stashed in safe havens abroad. Mukherjee had earlier
in budget speech promised that he would present a white paper on black money in
the Budget Session itself. "I will try to give all the relevant and possible information,"
he had said in the Lok Sabha. The white paper is likely to contain the report
of Black Money Committee set up in May 2011, under the chairmanship of Central
Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT). Mukherjee had earlier said the public discourse
on the issue of corruption and black money has come in the forefront with the
active participation of the civil society and parliamentary institutions in the
past year. "Two issues have been highlighted in this debate. First, several estimates
have been floated, often without adequate factual basis on the magnitude of black
money generated in the country and the unaccounted wealth stashed aboard. Secondly,
a perception has been created that the Government's response to address this issue
has been piecemeal and inadequate. This document seeks to dispel some of the views
around these two issues and place the various concerns in a perspective," said
Mukherjee. "The 'White Paper on Black Money' presents the different facets of
black money and its complex relationship with policy and administrative regime
in the country. It also reflects upon the policy options and strategies that the
Government has been pursuing in the context of recent initiatives, or need to
take up in the near future, to address the issue of black money and corruption
in public life," he added. Mukherjee said there is no doubt that manifestation
of black money in social, economic and political space of our lives has a debilitating
effect on the institutions of governance and conduct of public policy in the country.
"Governance failure and corruption in the system affect the poor disproportionately.
The success of an inclusive development strategy critically depends on the capacity
of our society to root out the evil of corruption and black money from its very
foundations. Our endeavour in this regard requires a speedy transition towards
a more transparent and result oriented economic management systems in India ,"
said Mukherjee. "The steps taken in recent years for simplifying and placing the
administrative procedures concerning taxation, trade and tariffs and social transfers
on UID based electronic interface, free of discretion and bureaucratic delays,
are vital building blocks of the approach for tackling corruption and black money
in our country," he added. The Finance Minister said the government has in this
past year brought five bills namely, the Lokpal Bill, the Judicial Accountability
Bill, the Whistle Blowers Bill, the Grievance Redressal Bill and the Public Procurement
Bill, which are at various stages of consideration by the Parliament. "The institutionalisation
and expansion of information exchange network at the international level is a
major step in curbing cross-border flow of illicit wealth and in facilitating
its repatriation. While these measures will set the tone for an equitable, transparent
and a more efficient economy, there is much that we could do, both individually
and collectively, to strengthen the moral fibre of our society," said Mukherjee.
"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.
However I have chosen to present this document now in response to an assurance
given to the Parliament. Hopefully, it would contribute to an informed debate
on the subject and a more effective policy response as we move forward," he added.
The Bharatiya Janata Party-led opposition had earlier mounted pressure on the
government to provide names of the defaulters in the case.
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