New Delhi: In a reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha (FM Nirmala Sitharaman), Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that a high-level committee has suggested banning all private cryptocurrencies in India. The committee says that only government-issued e-currencies should be approved in India. The Finance Minister said that the Central Government is planning to issue strict guidelines regarding cryptocurrency trading.
RBI-SEBI has inadequate e-currency regulation law
Finance Minister Sitharaman told the Rajya Sabha that an Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) has been constituted to study issues related to cryptocurrency under the chairmanship of the Secretary of Economic Affairs. At the same time, Minister of State for Finance Anurag Singh Thakur said in response to a question in the Upper House of Parliament that the government will soon bring a bill on cryptocurrency. He said that the existing laws are not sufficient to deal with matters related to this. Regulatory entities like RBI and SEBI do not have any legal system to directly regulate cryptocurrencies.
‘Cryptocurrency bill is being finalized’
Minister of State for Finance Thakur said that cryptocurrencies are not currency, assets, security or commodities issued by identifiable users. Therefore, RBI and SEBI do not have adequate laws to regulate them. The government had formed a committee, which has given its report on matters related to virtual currency. There was a meeting of Empowered Technology Group. The Committee of Secretaries, headed by the Cabinet Secretary, has also given its report. Thakur said that a bill on cryptocurrency is being finalized. It will be sent to the cabinet soon. We will bring the bill soon.
RBI is preparing to bring digital money
In view of all the virtual currency-related risks including bitcoin, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in April 2018 had suggested through a circular that they should not deal in virtual currency. However, the Supreme Court quashed this circular of RBI in the March 4, 2020 decision. In early February 2021, the RBI said that the central bank is working on a plan to bring a digital version of the Indian currency rupee.
