Finance Minister Arun Jaitley during the  launch of e-Sahyog and PAN camps, an initiative of  Income Tax Department to improve services in New Delhi, Oct. 27. (Subhav Shukla | PTI)

Recovering black money has always been a central past time of Indians and over the past couple of weeks Indians have been pre-occupied with comparing the recovery of about Rs. 25 billion ($385 million) of undisclosed wealth with the claims of $1 trillion sent overseas in past fifty years made by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

When in January 2014 at a rally Modi attempted to cash on this popular sentiment for a political victory by declaring that, “If we bring back those rupees then each and every poor man in India will get Rs. 1.5 million to Rs. 2 million for free,” Bharatiya Janta Party’s election strategist Amit Shah rubbished it as nothing more than a political “jumla” or literation.

Now it appears that the his government is keen to deliver on this war cry as it came up with a three month compliance window that ended September 30.

The ruling allowed citizens to declare any illegal money in foreign banks like LGT Bank of Liechtenstein and HSBC Bank, Geneva, failing which evaders would attract heavy penalties.

Sources in the government state that many countries that have agreed to enable India in this fight are USA, Germany, France, Switzerland, Singapore, Mauritius and the British Virgin Islands who would provide information and data flow on assets held by Indians, writes Priyanka Bhardwaj.

Over the recent past, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not been able to check indiscreet remarks by colleagues, party ideologues that have tended to flare up communal and casteist sentiments. Modi has also not been able to control the violence perpetrated by its ally Shiv Sena in Maharashtra, in the name of jingoistic nationalism. Thankfully, some of his policy moves are having some impact that is making businesses rethink their strategies and investment plans. In a switch that has gained some momentum in India, coal miners, thermal power generators and large electricity consumers, both state-owned and private, are looking at solar energy as an important component of their investment portfolio, writes Siddharth Srivastava.

Make-A-Wish Greater Bay Area’s glamorous fundraiser fashion event, the South Asian Fashion Show, took place at the City View Metreon building, downtown San Francisco, on Oct. 3. The charitable proceeds help support children with life-threatening diseases, writes Vasudha Badri-Paul.

The 2015 Regional Pravasi Bharatiya Divas convention will be held in Los Angeles, Nov. 14 -15. The objective of the convention is to provide a platform for the Indian community in U.S. to contribute to the relationship between the two countries, and explore ways to give back to the mother country. The members of the Indian community will have opportunity to convey their aspirations to the Government of India.

No, it’s not the 70s Amitabh Bachchan hit. It’s a trending joint in Sunnyvale, Calif., with a catchy name that serves exclusive Konkan coast cuisine from Mumbai and Goa.

If you are in the mood for a quick bite of spicy Konkan cuisine from Western India, in the heart of Silicon Valley, Bombay to Goa is definitely worth a try. The place is open late on weekends and offers free Wi-fi, in addition to the flavors of Aamchi Mumbai, write Siliconeer foodies Vansh A. Gupta and Rohan Kumar.

Siliconeer wishes all readers a very happy Diwali and a prosperous new year ahead!