The Indian Ministry of Finance has responded to several inquiries on cryptocurrency trading in India, as well as crypto regulation and investor protection. The proposals in the draught bill provided by the interministerial committee are still being evaluated, according to the minister of state for finance.
The Indian government responds to questions about cryptocurrency
On Monday, the Indian finance minister was questioned about cryptocurrency trading in India the Lok Sabha, the lower chamber of India’s parliament.
The first inquiry is on “the current state of cryptocurrency trading in India.” “This information is not gathered by the government,” said Shri Pankaj Chaudhary, Minister of State for the Ministry of Finance.
His response echoes the finance minister’s recent statement that the government does not collect data on the number of cryptocurrency exchanges or traders in India, and that it has not been told of any exchange-related fraud.
“The existing regulatory environment around cryptocurrencies and its trading,” the second question said.
All entities regulated by the central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), have been advised to conduct customer due to diligence processes in accordance with a number of regulations, including knowing your customer (KYC) standards, anti-money laundering (AML) legislation, the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), and the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) for international remittances, according to the minister of state.
The finance minister was then questioned about rules in place to safeguard cryptocurrency traders and investors “from fraud and other offenses in its trading.” The minister responded as follows:
“Does the government intend to create regulations related to cryptocurrency trading in India?” is the subject of the remaining three queries.
The minister of state then repeated the same response given in parliament several times, beginning with the announcement in the 2018-19 Budget Speech that “the government does not consider cryptocurrencies legal tender or coin, and will take all measures to eliminate the use of these crypto-assets in financing illegitimate activities or as part of the payment system.”
The minister then referenced an inter-ministerial committee (IMC) set up by former Finance Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg, who is no longer employed by the government. According to the minister, the IMC “suggested in its report that all private cryptocurrencies, except those issued by the government, be forbidden in India,” and that “all private cryptocurrencies, except those issued by the government, be prohibited in India.”
The crypto cabinet note is ready for consideration, according to the finance minister. The crypto bill, on the other hand, is not on the list of issues to be debated in this parliament session.