Finance Ministry of India on Cryptocurrency, Decisions about cryptocurrencies will not be rushed, she said in a conversation at Stanford University.
Finance Ministry of India on cryptocurrency 2022, Nirmala Sitharaman (FM) expressed concerns about the potential for cryptocurrency misuse and said India will make an informed decision on cryptocurrency regulation.
In a lecture at Stanford University, she said that cryptocurrency decisions would not be rushed.
“This is going to take some time… We should all at least make sure we’re making informed decisions based on the information we have. This shouldn’t be rushed,” she said.
The Minister explained that the government is open to promoting innovation and sound development of the emerging distributed ledger technology in the blockchain.
“So, we have no intention of harming this (cryptocurrency innovation)… But (we) have to define ourselves…” she said.
Cryptocurrencies could also be used for money laundering or terrorist financing, the minister noted.
Therefore, she added, these issues are not only related to India, but also to many countries around the world, and are being discussed on global multilateral platforms as well, she added.
India plans to introduce Central Bank Backed Digital Currency or Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).
Sitharaman announced in her budget speech on February 1 that the digital rupee, or CBDC, will be issued by RBI in the next fiscal year.
She also announced that starting April 1, the government will impose a 30% tax on profits generated from other personal digital assets.
T. Rabi Sankar, Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of India, talked about CBDCs earlier this month, saying that launching India’s first digital currency requires a detailed and measured approach as it will have multiple impacts on economic and monetary policy.
He said that his primary learning comes mostly from his own experiences, not from global experiences.
She also said about the merger of banks:-
Regarding the merger between HDFC and HDFC Bank, Sitharaman said it is a good move as India needs more large banks to meet its growing infrastructure financing needs.
Earlier this month, HDFC Bank, India’s largest private lender, reached an agreement to acquire the country’s largest mortgage lender in a transaction worth approximately $40 billion, making it the largest financial services firm in Indian corporate history.
The total asset base of the proposed venture is approximately Rs 18 million. The unification is expected to close in the second or third quarter of fiscal year 24 subject to regulatory authorizations.
The transaction includes the merger of HDFC and its two wholly owned subsidiaries, HDFC Holdings and HDFC Bank of HDFC Investments.
HDFC, as a promoter of HDFC Bank, owns 21% of lenders along with two subsidiaries and will be more than double the size of private sector ICICI Bank after the merger.
With regard to the Digital Divide, She said several steps had been taken to fill it.
When asked about the underreporting of deaths by COVID, she said the data reported by the central government was edited by the state.
The revision was due to changes made by the state government, and some deaths that occurred at her home were later updated by the state, she said.
