Modi government delays crypto bill, may not be tabled during winter session of Parliament | Digit

The Indian government is working on a new bill to regulate the crypto industry in India. This bill was expected to be tabled in the lower house of the parliament during the winter session. However, ahead of the tabling of this proposed bill, reports now claim that the bill has been delayed by several weeks, with the government not looking to table it in the winter session anymore. 

As per a report by The Economic Times, the government is thinking of changes to the proposed legislation’s framework, which would mean the Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2021, will now be tabled in the next session of the parliament. 

The government is of the opinion that some aspects of the bill need more deliberation, discussions, and comments from the public. These include the government bringing in a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) which will be recognised under the RBI Act. Another reason for this is the government’s belief that the new law for cryptocurrencies needs to be in line with a global framework which is still a work in progress.  

Indian government working on a new crypto bill

Earlier, reports had suggested that this bill would ban the use of cryptocurrencies as a method of payment in the country, and will also bring in stringent punishments for those who go against the regulations proposed in the bill. The bill, as per the report, would allow the authorities to arrest individuals without a warrant and hold them without bail. 

According to the summary of the bill accessed by Reuters, the government is making plans of “general prohibition on all activities by any individual on mining, generating, holding, selling, (or) dealing” in digital currencies as a “medium of exchange, store of value and a unit of account”. The report further states that flouting any of these rules would be “cognizable”, thereby opening the door to non-bailable arrests without a warrant. 

Also Read: Crypto bill could propose arrest without warrant for violation of new laws: Report