The government has commissioned an in-depth and fresh study, engaging three top national level institutions for estimation of unaccounted income and wealth held within and outside the country. Our correspondent quoting official sources reports, this study will bring out the nature of activities that encourage money laundering and its ramifications on national security. The study has already commenced in March this year and is expected to be completed within a period of 18 months. The study is being undertaken by National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, National Institute of Financial Management and National Council of Applied Economic Research . The study will try to profile the nature of activities engendering money laundering both inside and outside the country with its ramifications on national security. It is likely to identify important sectors of economy in which unaccounted money is generated and examine causes and conditions that result in generation of unaccounted money. It will also examine the methods employed in generation of unaccounted money and conversion of the same into accounted money. The study will suggest ways and means for detection and prevention of unaccounted money and bringing the same into the mainstream of economy. A senior finance ministry official speaking to AIR said the study will suggest methods to be employed for bringing to tax unaccounted money kept outside India. It will estimate the quantum of non-payment of tax due to evasion by registered corporate bodies. The issue of black money has attracted a lot of public and media attention in the recent past. So far there are no reliable estimates of black money generated and held within and outside the country. The different estimates on quantum of black money range between 500 billion US dollar to 1,400 billion US dollar. A recent study by Global Financial Integrity has estimated the illicit money outflow to be 462 billion US dollar. These estimates are based on various unverifiable assumptions and approximations. Government has been seized of the matter and has, therefore, commissioned these institutions to get an estimation and sense of the quantum of illicit fund generated and held within and outside the country.