The Government of India is slated to introduce 'The Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2021' in the winter session of the Parliament, reported ANI on Tuesday, 23 November.
According to ANI, the bill seeks to make “a facilitative framework for creation of official digital currency to be issued by RBI”. It also seeks to prohibit all private cryptocurrencies in India.
As per Business Standard, 26 new bills, including the one on cryptocurrencies, will be introduced in the Winter Session of the Parliament.
Background
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on 13 November chaired a high-level meeting on cryptocurrencies and related issues.
IANS had quoted sources as saying that the meeting was an outcome of a consultative process as the Reserve Bank of India, the Finance Ministry, and the Home Ministry had carried out an elaborate exercise on the issues, besides consulting experts from across the country and the world.
The high-level meeting had come after RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das sounded an alarm on cryptocurrencies, cautioning investors on the potential pitfalls of the digital currency.
On 16 November, according to NDTV, the first-ever Parliamentary panel discussion on the broad contours of Crypto Finance was held. The Standing Committee on Finance, chaired by BJP's Jayant Sinha met representatives of crypto exchanges, Blockchain and Crypto Assets Council (BACC), industry bodies, and other stakeholders.
The apex court had in 2020 nullified an RBI circular banning Cryptocurrencies, however.
(With inputs from ANI, NDTV, Business Standard and IANS.)
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