India has No Plan on Issuing Crypto: Finance Minister Chaudhary

The government of India has told parliament that it has no plans on issuing a Reserve Bank of India (RBI)-regulated cryptocurrency.

The Indian finance ministry made some clarification on the “RBI Cryptocurrency” in Rajya Sabha, India’s upper house of parliament, on Tuesday.

Member of the Rajya Sabha Sanjay Singh asked the finance minister to explain “whether it is a fact that [the] government is planning to introduce a cryptocurrency that will be regulated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).”

Responding to the question, Pankaj Chaudhary, the minister of state in the Ministry of Finance, replied with a “no.”

The Rajya Sabha member further asked if the government was aware that cryptocurrency “is unregulated and free from government intervention.” To this, Chaudhary replied: “Currently, cryptocurrencies are unregulated in India.”

The Indian government recently announced that it was working on a cryptocurrency legislation framework. A crypto bill was scheduled to be introduced in the country in the winter session of the parliament but was ignored. Also, the government would likely need more time to develop its regulatory framework considering that it has yet to begin consulting stakeholders on crypto regulation.

Singh later asked the finance ministry about the proposed central bank-issued digital rupee and its plans on issuing it this financial year. He asked: “What is the difference between the RBI cryptocurrency and traditional paper currency?”

Minister Chaudhary replied:

“RBI does not issue cryptocurrency. Traditional paper currency is a legal tender and is issued by RBI in terms of provisions of [the] RBI Act, 1994. A digital version of traditional paper currency is called central bank digital currency (CBDC).”

CBDC to Boost Digital Economy: India Finance Minster

The Finance Minister of India Nirmala Sitharaman said in her budget speech in February: “The introduction of a central bank digital currency will give a big boost to the digital economy. Digital currency will also lead to a more efficient and cheaper currency management system.”

Commenting on the impending digital rupee launch, the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, stated: “The digital rupee will revolutionize the fintech sector by creating new opportunities and lessen the burden in handling, printing, and logistics management of cash.”