Flagging concerns over likely misuse of crypto, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said India will take a considerate decision on regulation around the virtual currency.
The decision on crypto will not be rush through, she said in an interaction at Stanford University.
Nirmala Sitharaman Said :
“It will have to take its time…all of us to be sure that at least with a given available information, we’re taking the decision. It can’t be rushed through,”.
Nirmala Sitharaman clarified that the government is open to promote innovation and well-ground progress made in the distribute ledger technologies, which are coming in the blockchain.
Nirmala Sitharaman Said :
“So, our intention is in no way to hurt this (innovation around cryptocurrency)…but (we need to) define for ourselves…,”.
Cryptocurrencies can also be manipulate for money laundering or terror financing, the Finance minister said.
So, these are some of the concerns, not just India, but many countries of the world have and are also discuss in global, multilateral platforms, FM adds.
India is planning to introduce central bank-back digital currency or Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).
Nirmala Sitharaman, in her Budget speech on 1st February 2022, had announce that the digital rupee or CBDC would be issue by the RBI in the coming fiscal year.
Nirmala Sitharaman had also announce that the government will levy a 30% tax on gains made from any other private digital assets from 1st April 2022.
Reserve Bank of India Deputy Governor T Rabi Sankar earlier this month said a nuance and calibrate approach is essential for the launch of India’s maiden digital currency as it would have various implications for the economy and monetary policy.
The essential learning does not come from global experience but basically comes from your own experience.
On the merger of HDFC and HDFC Bank, Nirmala Sitharaman said, it is a good step because India needs a lot more big banks to take care of growing needs for infra financing.
India’s largest private lender HDFC Bank agree to take over the biggest domestic mortgage lender in a deal value at about $40 billion (approx. Rs. 3,06,770 crore), creating a financial services titan in the largest deal in the country’s corporate history.
The propose entity will have a combine asset base of around Rs. 18 lakh crore.
The merger is expect to be complete by the second or third quarter of FY24, subject to regulatory approvals.
The transaction involves the amalgamation of HDFC and its two wholly-own subsidiaries HDFC Holdings and HDFC Investments with HDFC Bank.
HDFC, as the promoter of HDFC Bank, holds 21% in the lender along with the two subsidiaries, which on the merger will be more than double the size of private sector peer ICICI Bank.
Nirmala Sitharaman said some steps have taken to bridge it.
Asked about the under-reporting of COVID death numbers, Nirmala Sitharaman said the data that the central government report was compiled from states.
The revision was due to changes made by the state governments, Nirmala Sitharaman said, adding some death that took place at home was update later by states.
