The sharply varying estimates of black (unaccounted) money held by Indians inside and outside the country may soon be history.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has signed up the country's three top economic think tanks to arrive at an official figure. This will help the government frame policies to tackle the problem.
The three institutes are National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, National Council of Applied Economic Research and National Institute of Financial Management.
According to the terms of the pacts - signed on Monday - the institutes will assess the unaccounted wealth held by Indians and profile activities that are the main sources of black money and money laundering.
They will also look at the ways used to generate unaccounted money and its conversion into white money. They will also zero in on conditions that help generation of black money.
The three will also suggest ways to detect and prevent creation of black money and bringing it into the official economy.
The institutes plan to submit their reports within 18 months. A senior income tax department official said that the three would give their reports independently of each other.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee had said in the Budget that generation and circulation of black money was a serious area of concern for the government.
He said the ministry had commissioned a study on the unaccounted wealth held by Indians.
Black money was one the hotly-debated issues during this year's Budget-making process. In the absence of an estimate and due to opposition from various quarters, the government decided against announcing a tax amnesty scheme to bring black money stashed abroad into the country.
