No assessment made by Govt on presumptive loss in 2G case

NEW DELHI, Dec 13: The Government has not made any assessment on presumptive losses following the CAG report on the 2G spectrum issue, Parliament was informed today.

“No assessment of the value of presumptive loss caused to the nation after the publication of CAG report in 2G spectrum matter has been made by the Government of India,” Minister of State for Finance Namo Narain Meena said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.

To a question as to whether the government would consider initiating loss assessment by a special commission under the Commission of Inquiry Act, the Minister said: “No proposal for such an assessment is under consideration”.

The report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) had pegged the presumptive loss to the exchequer on account of sale of 2G spectrum at Rs 1.76 lakh crore. The report had created a political storm leading to setting up of a Joint Parliamentary Committee to probe the scam.

On the impact of the 2G report of CAG on share market, Meena said: “Movements of share market depend on many factors including economic factors, domestic and international events, market sentiments, corporate performance and future economic growth.

“The stock market capitalises the present and future values of growth opportunities while evaluating the growth of all sectors in the economy… It is not possible to quantify the extent of loss or profit of the shareholders.”

In another reply, Minister of State for Finance S S Palanimanickam said Court cases were pending with regard to the demergers undertaken by a leading telecom operator.

The income tax department, he added, was of the view that the demerger was undertaken by the companies with the intention to evade tax. (PTI)