26 new bills including Cryptocurrency to be introduced in Winter Session of Parliament

26 new Bills have been listed for introduction in the Winter Session of the Parliament, including three Ordinances, that starts on 29 November, according to the legislative agenda for the upcoming session released today. A long-pending bill to deal with cryptocurrencies will be introduced in the Parliament during the Winter Session. Apart from this, the Winter Session will consider the banking amendment bill, repeal of farm laws, IBC amendment bill. The cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2021 "seeks to prohibit all private cryptocurrencies in India, however, it allows for certain exeptions to promote the underlying technology and its uses". The bill aims to create a facilitative framework for creation of the official digital currency to be issued by the Reserve Bank of India.

This comes days after the first-ever Parliamentary panel discussion on the broad contours of crypto finance, where a consensus was reached that cryptocurrency can't be stopped but must be regulated.The panel met days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a high-level meeting with officials from various ministries and the RBI on the issue of cryptocurrency. The Reserve Bank of India and Securities and Exchange Board of India have voiced concerns about the unregulated growth of cryptocurrencies in India, keeping vulnerable retail investors in mind. "On crypto...we have serious concerns from the point of view of macroeconomic and financial stability. How the issue has to be dealt with - we have given our detailed suggestions to the government; as far as I know, the matter is under the active consideration of the government, and the government will decide," RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das had said on Wednesday at an event.