India to take a considered view on crypto, says Nirmala Sitharaman

The minister stressed that the government is willing to support innovation and well-founded advancements in distributed ledger technology, such as blockchain.

Nirmala Sitharaman on Crypto

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on April 27 that India will make a careful decision on cryptocurrency legislation, citing concerns about possible misuse.

“The decision on crypto will not be rushed through,” she stated during a conversation at Stanford University.

“It will have to take its time…for all of us to be sure that, at the very least, with the knowledge we have, we are making the best decision possible. “It can’t be rushed,” Sitharaman explained.
The minister stressed that the government is willing to support innovation and well-founded advancements in distributed ledger technology, such as blockchain. “So, we have no intention of harming this (crypto-innovation)… “However, (we must) define ourselves…,” she stated.

So, these are some of the concerns that many countries throughout the world have, and which are also discussed in global, multilateral venues, she continued.

On April 19, the finance minister stated that the greatest risk of bitcoin is money laundering and terrorist financing.

“I believe that technology-based regulation is the best way to go. Regulation based on the technology will have to be so proficient that it is not only ahead of the curve, but also on top of it. That isn’t conceivable if any single country believes it can handle it. It has to be done on a broad scale “she’d stated.

India intends to launch a digital currency backed by the central bank, known as the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). You can track the global CBDC on cbdctracker.org and find how many counties have issued it.

In her Budget speech on February 1, Sitharaman indicated that the RBI would issue the digital rupee, or CBDC, in the coming fiscal year.

She also stated that beginning April 1, the government will apply a 30% tax on gains made from any other private digital assets.

T Rabi Sankar, Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, said earlier this month that a nuanced and calibrated strategy is required for the launch of India’s first digital currency, as it will have a variety of ramifications for the economy and monetary policy.

He had stated that the most important learning does not come from global experience, but rather from personal experience.

Sitharaman said the merging of HDFC and HDFC Bank is a good step since India requires a lot more strong banks to meet the country’s expanding infrastructure funding demands.

HDFC Bank, India’s largest private lender, agreed earlier this month to buy the country’s largest domestic mortgage lender in a $40 billion deal, establishing a financial services behemoth in the country’s business history.
The planned entity’s total asset base will be roughly Rs 18 lakh crore.

Subject to regulatory approvals, the merger is scheduled to be finalized in the second or third quarter of FY24.

The transaction includes the merger of HDFC and its two wholly-owned subsidiaries, HDFC Holdings and HDFC Bank of HDFC Investments. As a promoter of HDFC Bank,
HDFC, along with two subsidiaries, owns 21% of creditors and will be more than double the size of private sector ICICI Bank after the merger.

Regarding the Digital Divide, Sisalaman said several steps had been taken to fill it. When asked about the underreporting of deaths by COVID, she said the data reported by the central government was edited by the state.

Nirmala Sitharaman said the revision was due to changes made by the state government, and some deaths that occurred at her home were later updated by the state.