Government open to evaluate, explore cryptocurrencies: Anurag Thakur

The government is open to evaluate and explore new technologies, including cryptocurrencies for improving governance, says Union Minister Anurag Thakur.

Addressing an event organized by Entrepreneurs’ Organization – EO Punjab, Thakur said Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a strong advocate of embracing technology in various aspects of governance. “Let me say that we welcome innovation and new technology, blockchain is a new emerging technology,” he explained. “Cryptocurrency is a form of virtual currency. I firmly believe that we must evaluate, explore and encourage new ideas with an open mind.”

The Minister of State for Finance said the government would take a decision on the recommendations of the IMC and the legislative proposal, if any, would be introduced in Parliament following the due process.

On Saturday, the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman hinted that the Centre may not go for a blanket ban on digital currencies and that its still formulating its opinion. She said the call on cryptocurrencies will be taken after deliberations with the RBI and cabinet members.

“A lot of negotiations and discussions are happening around the cryptocurrency with the RBI. RBI will be taking a call on what kind of unofficial cryptocurrency will have to be planned and how it has to be regulated. However, we want to make sure that there is a window available for all kinds of experiments which will have to take place in the crypto world,” Sitharaman said.

The Finance Minister pointed out that the government’s position will be a “calibrated one”. “There will be a very calibrated position taken. A lot of mixed messages are coming from across the world. The world is moving fast with technology, we cannot pretend that we don’t want it.”

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But an inter-ministerial committee (IMC) on cryptocurrency had suggested a ban on private cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, in India. It also recommended for the introduction of an RBI-regulated digital currency. The central bank had virtually banned cryptocurrency trading in 2018, but the Supreme Court had given the green light for cryptocurrency trading in 2020.