Budget: SIT on blackmoney gets 10 per cent hike

New Delhi, Feb 28: The Special Investigation Team (SIT) on black money has been accorded an about 10 per cent hike in the latest budgetary allocation for expanding its infrastructure and procuring logistics to effectively conduct its task of tackling the menace.

The budget presented by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has allocated a total of Rs 45.39 crore for the SIT for 2015-16 financial year as compared to an amount of Rs 41.34 crore allocated to the high-powered panel in the last fiscal.

The SIT, headed by former Supreme Court Judge M B Shah and Vice Chairman Arijit Pasayat, has 11 members in the panel who are the heads of a number of central investigative and enforcement agencies of the country.

The panel was notified by the government last year on the directions of the Supreme Court and is mandated to lead India's fight against the menace, especially to check illegal assets of Indians stashed abroad. The panel has held various meetings till now and has also presented two major action taken reports to the apex court and government vis-a-vis status of investigations in black money cases and recommendations for tightening laws to check the menace.

PTI