India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, has called on governments worldwide to collaborate on cryptocurrency. He pointed out that “The kind of technology that is associated with it, the decisions taken by a single country will be insufficient to deal with its challenges.”
Indian Prime Minister Urges ‘Every Country, Every Global Agency’ to Collaborate on Cryptocurrency
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi talked about cryptocurrency at the World Economic Forum’s virtual Davos Agenda conference Monday.
“The challenges we have been facing are also increasing. To counter these, there is a need for collective and synchronized action by every country, every global agency. These supply chain disruptions, inflation, and climate change are examples of these. Another example is cryptocurrency,” Prime Minister Modi said, elaborating:
The kind of technology that is associated with it, the decisions taken by a single country will be insufficient to deal with its challenges. We have to have a similar mindset.
This is not the first time Prime Minister Modi has called on countries to collaborate on cryptocurrency. In December last year, he said at the summit hosted by U.S. President Joe Biden that cryptocurrency should be used to empower democracy. In November, he urged countries to collaborate on bitcoin and cryptocurrency to ensure that they do not fall into the wrong hands.
The Indian government has been working on a regulatory framework for cryptocurrency for quite some time. A bill titled “The Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency” was listed to be considered in the winter session of parliament but it was not taken up. The government is now reworking the bill. Modi will reportedly take the final decision on India’s cryptocurrency regulation.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), however, has called on the Indian government to completely ban cryptocurrency. In its recent meeting of the central board of directors, the central bank said that a partial ban will not work. The RBI has repeatedly warned about the risks cryptocurrency poses to the country’s financial system. The Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM), an affiliate of the nationalist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, has also urged the Indian government to ban cryptocurrency.
The Indian crypto industry is currently seeking clarity regarding taxation in the Union Budget 2022-23. The efforts came after the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) raided major crypto exchanges and found massive tax evasion.
Meanwhile, neighboring country Pakistan is also working on its regulatory framework on cryptocurrency. The country’s central bank, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), has recently recommended a complete ban on cryptocurrency.
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