Switzerland has signed an agreement with India that will allow Indian agencies to access details of Indian money stashed abroad. This is part of the Swiss drive to bring transparency in the working of its notorious banks after US president Barack Obama forced Swiss banking authorities to reveal the names of tax evaders.

The unaccounted money in tax havens abroad figured in the debates in the run-up to the general elections last year. An expert had put the estimate of Indian money in secret accounts of Swiss and other banks at Rs 70,000 crore. Estimates were made of how many village schools and primary health centres or how many NREGAs can be funded if this money is repatriated. While the BJP made it one of the election issues, the Congress too made the usual noises of doing the needful.

However, as pointed out by our columnist Vishwabandhu Gupta (Swiss banks don't want to hide, so we don't want to seek!), the government has shown little proactive interest in pursuing the matter. So, after the reworked India-Switzerland double taxation agreement, will our government follow it up with action and get at least part of the black money home?