Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday that a collective global effort is needed to deal with the problems posed by cryptocurrenices. We have to have a similar mindset,” Modi said at the World Economic Forum’s virtual Davos Agenda conference.
The government was to bring a cryptocurrency law to regulate the space in Winter Session of Parliament, but that didn’t happen for various reasons. Earlier, the RBI has also voiced “serious concerns” around digital currencies saying that they may impact financial stability.
Asserting that India is making its policies today while focussing on requirements for not just the present but also for the next 25 years, PM Modi said this period of growth would be ‘green and clean’ as well as ‘sustainable and reliable’.
He also said India is fighting another Covid-19 wave with full alertness and caution while also maintaining economic growth. New Delhi has previously flagged that it plans to ban most cryptocurrencies. A move which would follow recent measures by China that intensified its crackdown on cryptocurrencies.
India’s central bank has also voiced “serious concerns” around digital currencies saying that they may impact financial stability. There are an estimated 15 million to 20 million cryptocurrency investors in India. With total crypto holdings of around 400 billion rupees ($5.39 billion) according to industry estimates.
India is also working on signing free trade agreements with many countries, Modi added. India recently announced a start to free trade talks with Britain with the intent of signing a deal. By the end of this year.
The prime minister also said that it was the best time to invest in India. Because the country was willing to become a more trusted partner in global supply chain.