FM Nirmala Sitharaman: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that there is a lot of speculation about cryptocurrencies and these speculations are ‘not healthy’. His statement comes amid the government’s preparations to exchange cryptocurrencies. Addressing the ‘HT Leadership Summit’, Sitharaman said that the bill, which has been prepared after extensive deliberation, is definitely going to come in Parliament after the approval of the cabinet.
Responding to a question, the Finance Minister said, “Many kinds of speculations are going on… This is not correct.” The ‘Regulation of Cryptocurrencies and Official Digital Currency Bill, 2021’ has been included in the Bulletin-Part II. It will be introduced in the Lok Sabha in the winter session itself.
This pertains to creating a facilitating framework for an official digital currency to be issued by the Reserve Bank of India, the bulletin said. It also provides for a ban on all private cryptocurrencies in the country. However, it allows some exceptions for the promotion and use of the underlying cryptocurrency technology.
Earlier this week, Sitharaman had said in the Rajya Sabha that the new bill will take care of changes in the virtual currency sector and incorporate old bill items that could not be taken up earlier.
When asked whether the government proposes to ban misleading advertisements in the media, he said that the guidelines of the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) are being studied and their rules are also being looked into so that we can do any To take a stand or make a decision. If need be
He said that the government and the Reserve Bank are cautioning people against cryptocurrencies. This is a very high risk area. On the economic front, Sitharaman said that the country’s GDP growth figure will be very encouraging this year. India is emerging as the fastest growing large economy in the world.
On food inflation, he said floods in some parts of the country are causing supply disruptions. He expressed hope that the prices of products which are in short supply in January will come down. On edible oil, Sitharaman said that more imports were allowed which would help bring down prices.
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