New CII President B Muthuraman on Wednesday said an amnesty scheme for unearthing black money is feasible provided the government gives a strong message that those not declaring this type of funds will go to jail. "It (An amnesty scheme) is feasible, provided you have a very strong stick after that. Anyone who will not declare will go behind bars...," Muthuraman told PTI.
He said unless the message is sent out that the government would wield this kind of a stick, the amnesty scheme would not work. It should also be made clear to those with black money that "there is no second chance" for them.
Muthuraman, who is also Vice Chairman of Tata Steel, had earlier expressed concern over a spate of scams and allegations of corruption in public life.
According to some estimates, Indian wealth in Swiss banks and other offshore tax havens could be between $500 billion and $1.4 trillion (more than the size of the Indian economy).
The government had in 1997 announced an amnesty scheme called Voluntary Disclosure of Income Scheme (VDIS) to unearth blackmoney. In his media presentation, Muthuraman had said that the CII would press for removal of discretionary powers of government functionaries often "misused".
Muthuraman said the "misuse of discretion and standards, lack of transparent rules and procedures and lack of transparency in public procurement are the key challenges for governance".
The CII would initiate an action programme for removal of discretionary powers, particularly in allotment of natural resources, he said.
Further, he said there was nothing wrong in corporates hiring lobbying firms, provided they work within laws and in a professional manner.
"(Even) CII is a lobby group. It is a lobby group for industry associations...there is nothing wrong in it," Muthuraman said.
