Indian black money in Swiss banks down 80% under NDA: Government
New Delhi, July 24 : Indian black money deposits in Swiss banks went down by 34 per cent between 2016 and 2017 and by over 80 per cent since the BJP government came to power in 2014, an official statement said on Tuesday.
Referring to Swiss National Bank (SNB) data last month which showed that after falling for three years in succession, money parked by Indians in Swiss banks rose 50 per cent to Swiss francs 1.02 billion in 2017 over the previous year, a Finance Ministry release here said that a more reliable source of Indian black money stashed in Swiss banks is available from the data which the SNB collects jointly with the Bank for International Settlements.
"More often than not, the media reports have not taken account of the way the (SNB) figures have to be interpreted, which has resulted in misleading headlines and analyses. Moreover, it is frequently assumed that any assets held by Indian residents in Switzerland are undeclared (so-called 'Black Money')," it said.
"However, the cited figures that show an increase of 50 per cent in Swiss banks' total liabilities towards India also include non-deposit liabilities as well as business of Swiss branches located in India. To analyze Indian residents' deposits held in Switzerland, another data source should be used.
"This is the so-called 'locational banking statistics', which the SNB collects in collaboration with the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). This data source shows that the liabilities in the form of loans and deposits of Swiss-domiciled banks towards Indian non-banks decreased by 44 per cent between 2016 and 2017," it added.
The Finance Ministry noted that BIS data showed "non-bank loans and deposits (which really constitute the individual and corporate deposits used as black money haven in the past and exclude inter-bank transactions) have fallen by 34.5 per cent in 2017 compared to 2016 ($524 million in 2017 versus $800 million in 2016)".
It said Swiss non-bank loans and deposits have reduced by a significant 80.2 per cent under the NDA government between 2013 and 2017.
"This broadly corresponds SNB reports which show an 82 per cent reduction in total Indian customer deposits in Switzerland since 2013, though BIS data is the right way to measure actual deposits from India in Switzerland," it added.
Speaking to reporters outside Parliament earlier on Tuesday, acting Finance Minister Piyush Goyal refuted the allegations made by Congress President Rahul Gandhi and other opposition members in this regard.
"The Swiss government has informed us that the news being spread by Rahul Gandhi is baseless and that the figures quoted by some political leaders are completely irrelevant to this issue," he said.
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Unruly scenes witnessed in Punjab Assembly
Chandigarh (PTI): The Punjab Assembly on Friday witnessed high drama on Friday after Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira made an allegedly objectionable remark against Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann during an intense argument over the alleged use of mobile phone in the house by the legislator.
During the one-day special session of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha here, Mann accused Khaira of using a mobile phone when Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan was reading out an official resolution on the revision of wages.
After rising from his seat, the chief minister pointed to the speaker, claiming that Khaira is busy on his mobile phone and urged him to ask the Congress MLA what Sandhwan had said about the resolution.
The speaker then asked Khaira to maintain order in the house and listen to the resolution carefully.
Mann then asked Khaira, "Why don't you go out and then use it (mobile phone)," which led to a strong verbal altercation during which the opposition MLA hurled an accusation against the chief minister. Meanwhile, the speaker appealed for order and insisted that the chair be addressed.
However, both Mann and Khaira continued arguing and could be seen pointing fingers at each other as the proceedings of the house were disrupted.
The AAP MLAs also rose from their seats with Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema condemning Khaira for his conduct and demanded action against him.
Cheema further alleged that Khaira "always tries to disturb the house" as he spoke about his conduct in the assembly.
The incident occurred as an official resolution on the revision of wages was presented at the special session by Labour Minister Tarunpreet Singh Sond who said it paid homage to labourers on the International Workers' Day.
"Workers are the axis of construction of the nation, the community, the state and society. Every construction project succeeds only through their blood and sweat," the resolution read.
As per the resolution, "The base rate of minimum wages for the working class in Punjab was last revised in the year 2012. Although the dearness allowance has continued to increase since 2012, there has been no increase in the base rate of minimum wages.
On this sacred occasion of May Day, in this special session of the legislative assembly, this house proposes to revise and increase the minimum wages of labourers and strongly recommends to the government to take a decision regarding the increase of minimum wages for workers, so that the contributions of the workers can be acknowledged." PRK
