The Indian government is launching a crypto awareness campaign to educate investors about the legality of cryptocurrencies in the country while highlighting the risks of investing in crypto assets.
Indian government’s cryptocurrency awareness campaign
The Indian government is reportedly launching its first crypto awareness campaign. It will be conducted by the Investor Protection and Education Fund Authority, a government agency under the control of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.
government officials said, as quoted by ET.
The campaign underscores that cryptocurrencies are not legal in India and that such assets carry deep risks. Investments that promise lucrative and assured returns to the public have a high element of risk.
The Indian government is working on a crypto policy starting in 2019, but nothing has been finalized. Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the government plans to discuss crypto regulations with G20 members.
India’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), has long recommended a complete ban on all cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin and ether, warning that they could destabilize the country’s financial and fiscal stability.RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das recently said cryptocurrencies ban or the next financial crisis will come from cryptocurrencies, he said. Sitharaman, however, said international cooperation is needed for both bans and regulations to be effective.
Rajagopal Menon, vice president of Indian crypto exchange Wazirx, told The Hindu.
Cryptocurrency investing can be a complicated and risky endeavor because the category is highly volatile and operates around the clock. It is important that potential investors educate themselves thoroughly before making any decisions.
However, some are concerned that the Indian government’s crypto campaign may give a bad impression of cryptocurrencies, given the Investor Protection and Education Fund Agency’s awareness campaigns about Ponzi schemes, chit funds, and shady crowdfunding projects.
This is a quote from Vipul Kharbanda, a non-resident fellow at the Center for Internet and Society (CIS).
If the government takes a heavy-handed approach and starts saying things like virtual currency is not legal in India, that would not be entirely true. People may wrongly presume that it is illegal.
Both the Indian government and the central bank have said that cryptocurrency is not illegal in India.
Despite the absence of a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies, the Indian government imposes a 30% tax on crypto income and a 1% withholding tax (TDS) on crypto transactions.
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