Examining reports on black money commissioned by UPA: Jaitley

New Delhi, September 20 : The Finance Ministry says it is examining three reports on the quantum of black money held by Indians inside the country and abroad that were commissioned by the previous UPA regime and submitted more than three years ago.
Responding to an RTI query filed by a PTI correspondent, the ministry said information on the findings of the reports was “exempt from disclosure” under the RTI Act as they were under examination and were yet to be “taken to” Parliament.
The studies were conducted by the Delhi-based National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP) and National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) as well as the National Institute of Financial Management (NIFM) in Faridabad.
The NIPFP, NCAER and NIFM reports were received by the government on December 30, 2013, July 18, 2014, and August 21, 2014, respectively.
The present Narendra Modi-led BJP government came to power in May 2014. “Information is exempt from disclosure under Section 8 (1) © of the RTI Act, 2005, as the study reports received from the three institutes are under examination of the government and the same alongwith the government’s response on these reports are yet to be taken to the Parliament through the Standing Committee on Finance,” the Finance Ministry said in its reply.The Section bars “information, the disclosure of which would cause a breach of privilege of Parliament or the State Legislature”.