New Delhi: The government is not planning to introduce any cryptocurrency that the Reserve Bank of India will regulate, stated Pankaj Chaudhary, Minister of State For Finance.
He further stated, “Currently, cryptocurrencies are unregulated in India.”
“The RBI does not issue a cryptocurrency. Traditional paper currency is a legal tender issued by the RBI in terms of provisions of the RBI Act, 1994. A digital version of traditional paper currency is called Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC),” Pankaj Chaudhary stated in a reply to a query by Member of Parliament Sanjay Singh.
On the other hand, there is a bill currently pending on cryptocurrency.
The Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill aim to ban all private coins operating as a payment method in India, sparing a few to promote underlying technologies, even though it allows the RBI to set up an official digital currency.
However, the government previously said that it focuses on promoting underlying technologies including blockchain, for which there has been a delay with the bill.
According to the market experts, the reforms to the bills with appropriate consultations will allow India to the forefront of blockchain technology.
Reportedly, the bill has been under work for over a year. The bill was taken to the parliament for the winter session which ended on December 23, 2021. However, the bill was not introduced. The cryptocurrency legislation was also listed in the budget and monsoon sessions earlier in 2021.
Besides, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman stated that the details related to the bill would be made public after getting approved by the union budget.
