India’s Crypto Regulatory Framework Finalization Almost Complete

Just a couple of months ago, the government of India prepared a regulatory framework for the cryptos. The preparation of the report was initiated by an inter-ministerial committee. The latest news from the government is that the crypto regulation report is being finalized. A local news outlet had earlier filed a Right to Information. Therefore, this acted as a response.

The Finalizing Stages Of The Report
For quite some time now, the government of India has been seriously working on this report. Crypto regulation has been a great topic in the entire financial market. The report was done by the Inter-Ministerial Committee – IMC. This committee is headed by Subhash Chandra Garg. He is also the secretary of the Department of Economic Affairs. The main work of the committee is to develop the cryptocurrency regulatory framework of the country. Coin Crunch, a local news outlet, announced on Friday that this report was on the finalization stage. On December 13tht 2018, the media outlet filed an RTI- Right to Information with the Department of Economic Affairs. The in the request, the publication asked three main questions.

The Request Questions
Here are the questions that Coin Crunch asked when they filed the request. The first question was whether the committee had filed the report to the country’s Ministry of Finance. The second question was whether the committee had recommended a ban on the Bitcoin virtual coin. In the last request, the media outlet threw a point-blank. They asked is they could be able to get the copy of the report.

On Friday, 25th, the government of India finally gave a reply to this request. The reply was done in a brief statement. In their own words, the government stated that the committee’s report was on the last stage. Therefore, it is prohibited under section 8 [3] of the RTI Act, 2005. Coin Crunch, on the other hand, acknowledged the contents of the RTI Act Section 8. It gives an entity an opportunity to withhold the data in particular situations.

What Should Be Contained In The Long-Awaited Report
In December last year, the country’s Ministry of Finance had to explain details to Lok Sabha. The is the lower house of parliament in India. According to the ministry, the main duty of the committee is to study all the aspects of the crypto-assets and cryptocurrencies with BTC included. In addition to that, the committee is also working to create a framework for regulating the cryptos. Previously, Garg had earlier stated that the report of this committee would be available in July 2018. It had, however, been seriously delayed.

Quartz India in November 2019, wrote that this draft report was supposed to be put before the IMC by December. It was also supposed to be circulated to the members of the IMC at their next meeting usually held in December and January. Earlier on, there had been conflicting reports when it comes to the recommendations that had been made by the committee. There had even some reports that the cryptos could be termed illegal once the report is done. Al that have proved to be just rumors.