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The Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley Tuesday informed that Swiss authorities have reiterated that they will confirm or deny the evidences collected by the Indian government on Black Money account holders in addition to the stolen HSBC data.
The Swiss authorities have already denied to extend any cooperation in the stolen HSBC data.
"Whatever stolen data has been obtained through illegal means, the Swiss authorities have informed that they will not cooperate in that. But they have agreed to confirm or deny some evidences in addition to the leaked HSBC data that we have collected," Jaitley told media persons here.
Adding that the Swiss Economic Affairs Minister, Johann Schneider Ammann's recent visit extended the cooperation in the black money issue.
"From the last one year we have had extensive negotiations with the Swiss authorities. The Swiss authorities have been moving in the direction of cooperation. I am delighted that this cooperation would not have fructified on a better day than when our government completes its one year," he said adding that "the veil of secrecy with regard to assets and monies kept by Indian entities outside India is going to be lifted... This should give a sufficient indicator to those who hold assets outside India."
Further, commenting on the non-performing assets of the banks, the Finance Minister maintained that as compared to a year ago, the NPA levels have come down. "There was economic slackness during the UPA regime. Therefore, the industries couldn't perform well hence repayments were slow. When we came to power, the NPAs of PSU banks hovered at 6 per cent. But our government wanted PSBs to run professionally. Today, the NPAs have come down to about 5.2 per cent for March quarter as against 5.64 per cent in the previous quarter," he said.
However, he maintained that this shouldn't be considered as the complete recovery. "These are patchy corrections. We have to wait for two-three more quarters to show sustained recovery," said the Finance Minister.
Ruling out the opposition's allegations about the constant price rise, Jaitley further said, "They left behind the inflation rate of 11 per cent. Today, Consumer Price Index (CPI) is about 5 per cent and wholesale price index is negative."
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