The colour of money may be green, but its digital avatar is making the Indian government see red. Not that cryptocurrency—which refers to digital tokens stored in secure online ledgers called blockchain and traded electronically between users—have any particular color associated with it yet.
That is unless you count how new legislation might mean Code Red for millions of Indians who own and trade in this digital money. A draft bill scheduled to be tabled in the ongoing session of Parliament aims to ban “all private cryptocurrencies” and bring in a digital version of the rupee.
“Existing laws are inadequate to deal with (cryptocurrencies),” said Anurag Thakur, Union minister of state for finance, in Parliament on February 9. “The bill is being finalised and would be sent to the cabinet soon.”
Reports suggest that the government is in a hurry, and may take the ordinance route to push the law into effect. India’s financial space is keenly awaiting the final draft of the bill and the exact definition of the ‘private cryptocurrency’ that it proposes to ban. “The proposed cryptocurrency bill has created more questions than answers,” said Arjun Vijay, co-founder and COO of Giottus Cryptocurrency Exchange. The fear and uncertainty had created panic and valuation flux in the exchanges earlier this month.
“It is unclear what private cryptocurrency is, and it is an incorrect term,” said Nischal Shetty, CEO of WazirX, a crypto exchange. “Bitcoin and ethereum are public crypto built on public blockchains. Moreover, it is a myth that the Reserve Bank creating its own digital currency removes the need for other cryptocurrencies.”
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
William Dalrymple goes further back
Indian readers have long known William Dalrymple as the chronicler nonpareil of India in the early years of the British raj. His latest book, The Golden Road, is a striking departure, since it takes him to a period from about the third century BC to the 12th-13th centuries CE.
The bleat from the street
What with all the apps delivering straight to one’s doorstep, the supermarkets, the food halls and even the occasional (super-expensive) pop-up thela (cart) offering the woke from field-to-fork option, the good old veggie-market/mandi has fallen off my regular beat.
Courage and conviction
Justice A.M. Ahmadi's biography by his granddaughter brings out behind-the-scenes tension in the Supreme Court as it dealt with the Babri Masjid demolition case
EPIC ENTERPRISE
Gowri Ramnarayan's translation of Ponniyin Selvan brings a fresh perspective to her grandfather's magnum opus
Upgrade your jeans
If you don’t live in the top four-five northern states of India, winter means little else than a pair of jeans. I live in Mumbai, where only mad people wear jeans throughout the year. High temperatures and extreme levels of humidity ensure we go to work in mulmul salwars, cotton pants, or, if you are lucky like me, wear shorts every day.
Garden by the sea
When Kozhikode beach became a fertile ground for ideas with Manorama Hortus
RECRUITERS SPEAK
Industry requirements and selection criteria of management graduates
MORAL COMPASS
The need to infuse ethics into India's MBA landscape
B-SCHOOLS SHOULD UNDERSTAND THAT INDIAN ECONOMY IS GOING TO WITNESS A TREMENDOUS GROWTH
INTERVIEW - Prof DEBASHIS CHATTERJEE, director, Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode
COURSE CORRECTION
India's best b-schools are navigating tumultuous times. Hurdles include lower salaries offered to their graduates and students misusing AI
