India plans to discuss cryptography regulation with member countries as part of its G20 presidency, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the Indian government wants the world’s nations to “have a technology-driven framework or Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) so that countries around the world can have a “technology-driven regulatory framework” for cryptography.
India to Discuss Crypto Regulatory Framework with G20 Members
Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman shared the government’s plans on crypto regulation on Saturday before ending her trip to Washington DC to attend the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank, PTI reported.
The Finance Minister told Indian reporters that crypto will be part of the agenda for India’s G20 presidency. Noting that various organizations are doing their own research on cryptocurrencies, she said.
We will definitely collate all these, do a little research and bring it to the G20 table so that members can discuss and hopefully arrive at a framework or SOP so that globally, countries can have a technology driven regulatory framework You can do that.
“But implicitly,” Sitaraman stresses, “we don’t want technology to get in the way.” We want the technology to survive and also for fintech and other sectors to benefit from it.”
The Finance Minister then referred to the Executive Directorate (ED) detecting money laundering activities involving crypto assets and crypto trading platforms in India.
“This concern has actually been acknowledged by some members of the G20, saying yes money trails, yes money laundering, yes drug misuse, etc.,” Sitharaman continued and concluded.
There is an understanding that certain regulations are needed and all countries must work together to regulate them. No country will be able to handle it alone. So we will certainly have something on that.
The G20 is an intergovernmental forum of the world’s major developed and developing countries. Its member countries are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the European Union. from December 1 to November 30, 2023. India will assume the G20 presidency for a year.
The Indian government is reportedly working to finalize its stance on the legality of cryptocurrencies by the first quarter of next year to comply with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) after sitting on a draft crypto bill for several years. Last month, the Finance Minister asked the IMF to take a leading role in regulating cryptocurrencies; the IMF said it is ready to work with India on crypto regulation.
While India has yet to establish a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies, the country already taxes crypto income at 30% in addition to imposing a 1% withholding tax (TDS) on crypto transactions. In addition, the Ministry of Finance is reportedly considering ways to apply the Goods and Services Tax (GST) to crypto.
Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) continues to have “serious concerns” about cryptocurrencies. The central bank has repeatedly recommended a complete ban on non-government-issued cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin and ether. However, the finance minister said in July.” Any legislation for regulation or prohibition can only be effective after significant international cooperation on the assessment of risks and benefits and the evolution of common taxonomies and standards.”
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