The Department of Economic Affairs of India is in the process of finalizing a consultation paper on cryptocurrencies, which will then be submitted to the federal government. Implementing the document could bring the country of 14 billion closer to the international regulatory consensus on digital assets.
On Monday May 30, at an event hosted by the Ministry of Labor and Employment, Economic Affairs Secretary Ajay Seth revealed that his department was completing work on the consultation paper, which would outline the position of the countries on crypto.
The document was developed in cooperation with industry stakeholders, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. Seth clarified that the document would reinforce India’s commitment to “some kind of global regulation”:
“Digital assets, however we want to deal with these assets, there has to be a broad framework that all economies have to be together.”
Responding to the question about the possible outright ban, the official acknowledged that any nationwide ban would not work in isolation:
“Whatever we do, even if we go to the extreme form, the countries that have chosen to ban, they can only succeed if there is a global consensus.
Related: India’s ‘blockchain not crypto’ stance highlights lack of understanding
In recent years, India has exhibited a rather militant stance when it comes to crypto. In 2017, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Ministry of Finance compared digital currencies to Ponzi schemes and banned all dealings with them for commercial banks and lenders.
In 2022, long after the ban was officially lifted, the RBI warned of the “dollarization” threat posed by crypto, while in his recent virtual address at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called cryptocurrency a global challenge. which requires “collective and synchronized action” from all national and international bodies.
