According to two people familiar with the situation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will make a final decision on the regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies despite differing opinions among stakeholders. On Thursday, a high-level meeting was conducted to evaluate all options as well as stakeholder perspectives, including the Reserve Bank of India’s concerns.
According to one of the individuals, the choices include a complete ban on private cryptocurrency, a partial ban, permitting all types of crypto goods with regulation, or only a select few with regulation.
The second person indicated that discussions on the framework are expected to continue on Friday before a decision is made.
The Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2021, is scheduled to be debated and passed during Parliament’s current winter session.
Some changes to the draught bill are possible.
The finance ministry has finalised a draught note on the proposed bill, but the person said that sections of the government thought that more extensive discussions on the bill’s principles and the broad aspects of India’s management of virtual currencies were needed. Discussions are likely to centre on various solutions and the benefits and drawbacks of implementing them. “The PM will now make the ultimate decision on these,” the source stated.
Following these high-level discussions, the draught bill may undergo certain adjustments.
The bill was previously listed in the last budget session, but it was unable to be tabled due to the government’s decision to rewrite it.
The proposed Bill also aims to create a structure that will make it easier for the Reserve Bank to develop an official digital currency. Its goal is to make private cryptocurrencies illegal in India while allowing for some exceptions to promote the underlying technology.
Last week, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told the Rajya Sabha that the government will present the Bill to Parliament once it had been cleared by the Cabinet.