White paper on black money in this Parliament session

New Delhi:  As part of his union budget, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has committed to tabling a white paper on black money in this session of Parliament.  The document will share information on undeclared income held by Indians in foreign bank accounts to avoid taxes.
A white paper explains the government policy on a particular subject, and allows the government to collect feedback before a Bill is prepared.  

CBI Director A P Singh whipped up a storm last month when he said that 500 billion dollars or nearly 25 lakhs crores has been moved illegally by India to tax havens abroad.  "Largest depositors in Swiss Banks are also reported to be Indians," he had said.

However, the government has denied this. Minister of State for Finance SS Palanimanickam told the Rajya Sabha this week, "There is no authentic estimate of quantum of Indian money stashed in foreign banks".

The BJP and its leader LK Advani have attacked the government recently for shielding those whose foreign bank account details have been shared by other countries.  However, the Finance Minister has repeatedly stressed that going public with this information will violate treaties with those countries. In December, Mr Advani said in Parliament, "Reveal the names you have. It will be a humiliation if we do not get to know them from our Prime Minister or our Finance Minister and come to know from Julian Assange of WikiLeaks as he has said that he would reveal them in 2012."

For NDTV Updates, follow us on Twitter or join us on Facebook

View the original article here

Saif Ali Khan shown black flags in Bhopal

By Hindustan Times
Bollywood star Saif Ali Khan was shown black flags here by locals, protesting the decision to appoint a Saudi national as the caretaker of the guest houses built by the erstwhile Nawabs of Bhopal for Haj pilgrims to Mecca.
Saif, the titular Nawab of Bhopal, was in the city Friday night to see the World Series Hockey game between Bhopal Badshahs and Delhi Wizards and to promote his forthcoming film Agent Vinod.
The protesters, led by Congress leader Arif Masood, also threatened that Saif's films will not be screened in the city until an Indian national is re-appointed as caretaker of Rubaats, or the guest houses in Saudi Arabia where Haj pilgrims, especially from Bhopal, stay during Haj.
"There were 45 Rubaats of the Hyderabad Nizam in Saudi Arabia but their number came down to one after Saudi nationals were appointed as caretakers," Arif Masood told reporters, explaining the reason for protesting the decision.
There are at least seven Rubaats which comes under Aukaf-e-Shahi, or the religious endowment trust of the erstwhile Nawabs of Bhopal.
Last year, after the demise of Saif's father Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, who was mutawalli or administrator of the trust, his elder daughter Saba Ali Khan took his place.
Soon thereafter, the caretaker of rubaats, who was an Indian, was replaced by a Saudi national. The decision has been widely criticised by locals.
It was not clear who gave the order, but Aukaf-e-Shahi secretary Anwar Muhammad Khan resigned from the post on the controversy.
Saif's grandmother was the daughter of the last reigning Nawab of Bhopal and succeeded him as the titular ruler.
View the original article here