The Cryptocurrency and Official Digital Currency Bill, 2021 has been included in the Lok Sabha Bulletin-Part II, to be introduced in the ongoing winter session.
Stating that there is a lot of speculation being made on cryptocurrencies, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Saturday that these speculations are “not healthy at all.” His remarks come against the backdrop of the government’s preparations to bring in legislation to regulate cryptocurrencies.
Speaking at the HT Leadership Summit, the Finance Minister said that there is certainly a well-consulted bill which is coming up in Parliament after the Cabinet’s approval.
“There is a lot of speculation… it is not healthy at all,” he said in response to a question about whether he thinks there is a lot of unregulated speculation happening on crypto.
The Cryptocurrency and Official Digital Currency Bill, 2021 has been included in the Lok Sabha Bulletin-Part II, to be introduced in the ongoing winter session.
The Bill seeks to create a facilitating framework for the creation of an official digital currency to be issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the bulletin said.
It also seeks to ban all private cryptocurrencies in India, however, it allows some exceptions to promote the cryptocurrency and the technology underlying its use.
Earlier this week, Ms Sitharaman, while answering a series of questions in the Rajya Sabha, said that the new bill takes into account the rapidly changing dimensions in the virtual currency space, and incorporates features of the earlier bill which did not. can be taken.
When asked whether the government proposes to ban misleading advertisements in the media, he said that the guidelines of the Advertising Standards Council of India are being studied and their rules are also being looked into, so that we can do the needful. If necessary, take any kind of approach. It’s a decision to see how we’re going to handle it”.
She had said that the government, RBI and SEBI are cautioning people about cryptocurrencies which can be a “high risk” area and “more can be done” to create awareness.
On economic growth, Sitharaman said at the HT Leadership Summit, this year’s GDP numbers will be very encouraging and India will emerge as the fastest growing large economy in the world.
With regard to food inflation, he said, there is supply crunch due to floods in some parts of the country due to which the prices of perishable products are rising.
However, he expressed hope that the prices of those items in short supply will come down by January.
He said that substantial and more imports have been allowed on edible oil and this should take care of the rise in prices. With the fresh crop of mustard, he said its prices would also come down soon.
Asked about meeting the disinvestment target of Rs 1.75 lakh crore during the current fiscal, he said, “We are making progress with each of them (BPCL strategic sale, LIC IPO). Plenty of time for details.” needed.” He said the handing over of Air India to the Tata group would be done by December 31.
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