FM Nirmala Sitharaman: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said there is a lot of speculation on cryptocurrencies and these speculations are 'not healthy'. Her statement comes amid preparations for the government's exchange of cryptocurrencies. Addressing the 'HT Leadership Summit', Sitharaman said that the bill, which has been prepared after a thorough deliberation, is definitely going to come to the Parliament after the approval of the Cabinet.
Replying to a question, the Finance Minister said, "There is a lot of speculation going on... This is not right.'' The Regulation of Cryptocurrencies and Official Digital Currency Bill, 2021 has been included in Bulletin-Part II of the Lok Sabha. It will be introduced in the Winter session itself.
The bulletin says it deals with preparing a convenient framework for the official digital currency to be issued by the Reserve Bank of India. It also provides for a ban on all private cryptocurrencies in the country. However, it allows some exceptions for the promotion and use of the technology underlying cryptocurrencies.
Earlier this week, Sitharaman had said in the Rajya Sabha that the new bill would take care of changes in the virtual currency sector and include the old bill items that could not be taken earlier.
On asking if the government proposes to ban misleading advertisements in the media, she said the guidelines of the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) are being studied and their regulations are also being looked into so that we can take any stand or take a decision if needed.
She said that the government and the Reserve Bank are warning people against cryptocurrencies. It's a fairly high risk area. On the economic front, Sitharaman said that this year the country's GDP growth figure will be quite encouraging. India is emerging as the world's fastest growing large economy.
On food inflation, she said that supply constraints are being hampered due to floods in some parts of the country. She expressed hope that in January the prices of those products, whose supply is still short, will come down. On edible oil Sitharaman said more imports were allowed which will help bring down prices.