"Government Will Bring A Well-Consulted Crypto Bill": Finance Minister
NDTV
The Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2021, has been included in the Lok Sabha Bulletin-Part II for the introduction in the ongoing Winter Session.
Asserting that a lot of speculation is taking place on cryptocurrencies, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday said these speculations are not "healthy at all." Her comments come against the backdrop of the government preparing to come out with legislation to regulate cryptocurrencies.
Speaking at the HT Leadership Summit, the Finance Minister said there is certainly a well-consulted bill that is coming in Parliament after the Cabinet nod. "There is a lot of speculation...that's not healthy at all," she said in a reply to a question if she thinks that a lot of unregulated speculation is taking place on crypto.
The Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2021, has been included in the Lok Sabha Bulletin-Part II for the introduction in the ongoing Winter Session. The bill seeks to create a facilitative framework for the creation of the official digital currency to be issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the Bulletin said.
It also seeks to prohibit all private cryptocurrencies in India, however, it allows for certain exceptions to promote the underlying technology of cryptocurrency and its uses. Earlier this week, Sitharaman in the Rajya Sabha while replying to a series of questions had said the new bill takes into account the rapidly changing dimensions in virtual currency space, and incorporates features of the earlier bill that could not be taken up.