Skip to main content

Indian Government Confirms Crypto Bill Is ‘Awaiting Approval’

Indian Government Confirms Crypto Bill Is 'Awaiting Approval'

The Indian government has confirmed in a Right to Information (RTI) reply that the inter-ministerial committee’s cryptocurrency bill is “awaiting approval of the government.” The bill is currently being examined by various ministries.

Indian Government’s Confirmation

The government of India has been sitting on a cryptocurrency draft bill since it was submitted to the finance ministry early last year. Entitled “Banning of Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2019,” the document was drafted by an inter-ministerial committee headed by former Finance and Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg.

While no formal announcement regarding the progress of the bill has been made, some media reports suggest that consultation has begun on this bill. To establish the veracity of this news, lawyer Mohammed Danish, co-founder of Crypto Kanoon, filed an RTI application with the Department of Economic Affairs.

In its short reply dated July 13, the Department of economic affairs wrote: “The government has set up inter-ministerial committee (IMC) for examining the issues of cryptocurrencies under the chairmanship of Secretary (EA).” The letter continues:

The report of the IMC on VCs [virtual currencies] has since been submitted by its members, but is awaiting approval of the government. The report and bill now be examined by the government through inter-ministerial consultation by moving a cabinet note in due course.

Danish explained to Coinpedia publication on Wednesday that “The present bill contemplates a blanket ban on everything related to cryptocurrencies.” He added that the IMC proposal “prescribes punishments for every activity from mining, holding, advertising, promoting, buying, selling to providing exchange services … If this bill is converted into law in the present form, then no sector can survive.”

However, he highlighted that the DEA used the word “government” in its RTI reply to refer to the Ministry of Finance, and not “Parliament” or “Cabinet Secretariat.” This “means that this crypto bill does not conform to the satisfaction of the finance ministry,” the Crypto Kanoon co-founder opined.

In addition, he emphasized that it is “unclear and quite pre-mature” to predict what the Ministry of Finance will do, including whether substantial changes will be made to the bill to reject the idea of a complete ban on cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin. Nonetheless, “it seems that the Ministry of Finance does not want to proceed with this crypto bill for parliamentary clearance in the present form,” Danish believes, elaborating:

If the govt. decides to pass a law banning crypto, this law can be challenged by crypto business, traders, or enthusiasts based on various rights available to them under the Constitution.

Specifically, Danish pointed out that “They can challenge this law before the supreme court under Article 32 and before high courts under Article 226 of the Constitution.”

Do you think the Indian government will ban crypto? Let us know in the comments section below.

The post Indian Government Confirms Crypto Bill Is ‘Awaiting Approval’ appeared first on Bitcoin News.



from Bitcoin News https://ift.tt/3gi8yhw
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Mt Gox Creditors Updated, Trustee Says Rehabilitation Custodian Is ‘Currently Preparing to Make Repayments’

On August 31, 2022, the Mt Gox trustee Nobuaki Kobayashi explained in a recent letter that the rehabilitation custodian is “currently preparing to make repayments” to Mt Gox creditors. Trustee Updates Mt Gox Creditors — Repayment Date and Exchange Still Unknown Last week speculation and rumors concerning the release of 140K bitcoin ( BTC ) from Mt Gox littered social media platforms and headlines. Bitcoin.com News covered the situation six days ago as a number of people and Mt Gox creditors called the rumors “ fake news .” During that same period of time, a bitcoin whale transferred 10,000 BTC to unknown wallets, and a 2018 annotation , heuristics, and clustering methods show the funds likely originated from the June 2011 Mt Gox hacks. Following the mysterious whale transfer, last Wednesday, Mt Gox published an official update from the court trustee Nobuaki Kobayashi that explains the court is “currently preparing to make repayments” to creditors. Mt Gox creditors have been wait...
Post a Comment
Read more

Fidelity Discusses Bitcoin as Portfolio Insurance — Could Soon Stand in ‘Stark Contrast’ to Path Fiat Currencies Take

Fidelity Digital Assets, a subsidiary of Fidelity Investments, says that bitcoin could be considered portfolio insurance. The firm notes that the cryptocurrency “may soon stand in stark contrast to the path that the rest of the world and fiat currencies may take — namely the path of increased supply, additional currency creation, and central bank balance sheet expansion.” Fidelity Says Bitcoin Could Be Portfolio Insurance Fidelity Digital Assets, a subsidiary of Fidelity Investments, recently published a research study titled “The Rising Dollar and Bitcoin.” The research outlines “how bitcoin could be considered portfolio insurance” as the rising dollar impacts global currency markets. “The strengthening U.S. dollar is wreaking havoc among other countries and may put pressure on the Federal Reserve to soon reverse its tightening monetary actions, something that has precedent based on 1985’s Plaza Accord,” Fidelity explained. In addition, “more monetary debasement may be needed to ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Economists Discuss Russia, China Potentially Developing Gold-Backed Currency That Could Undermine US Dollar

Economists have weighed in on reports that China and Russia may be developing a new gold-backed currency that could undermine the U.S. dollar’s status as the world’s primary reserve currency. Russia and China May Be Developing Gold-Backed Currency Several experts have shared their views on Russia and China potentially creating a new gold-baked currency, Fox Business reported Saturday, emphasizing that China has been buying up huge quantities of gold while Russia was forced off the U.S. dollar due to sanctions imposed on the country following its invasion of Ukraine. The news outlet noted that some experts have cautioned that these moves, along with the closer relationship that has developed between Moscow and Beijing, point to the likelihood of China attempting to launch a gold-backed currency. However, neither Russia nor China has officially confirmed plans for such a currency. Craig Singleton, senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and a former U.S. diplomat,...
Post a Comment
Read more