PM Modi Calls For Global Effort On Crypto, Says Collective And Synchronised Action Needed

While speaking at Davos World Economic Forum (WEF), Prime Minister Narendra Modi termed cryptocurrencies as one of the biggest challenges facing the global community. 

“Today, with the change in the global order, the challenges we have been facing as a global family are also increasing. To combat these, there is a need for collective and synchronized action by every country, every global agency. Supply chain disruptions, inflation and climate change are few examples of these challenges. Another example is cryptocurrency,” he began.

He further added, “The kind of technology that is associated with it, the decisions taken by a single country will be inadequate to deal with its challenges. We have to have a common mindset. But looking at the global scenario today, the question is whether multilateral organisations are ready to deal with the new world order and new challenges; is that strength left in them? When these institutions were formed, the situation was different. Today the circumstances are different. Therefore, it is the responsibility of every democratic country to emphasize reforms in these institutions so that they can come up to the task of tackling the challenges of present and future.”

This development comes on the tails of the news that the union government is unlikely to introduce any cryptocurrency regulation or bill in the upcoming budget session of parliament.

The government will also delay the launch of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) according to media reports. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had decided to pilot a simpler CBDC model and to utilise the lessons from the pilot in creating a more sophisticated CBDC.

The RBI had earlier announced plans to pilot a cryptocurrency by the first quarter of the 2022 financial year. Even that date might have to be extended further considering all factors at play.

During the same speech, the Prime Minister also spoke about how well the Indian startup ecosystem was doing.

 “India has the third-highest number of unicorns among all countries in the world. More than 10,000 startups have been registered in the last six months. Today India has the world’s biggest, secure and efficient digital payments platform,” he said.

Modi also brought up the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), the Aarogya Setu App, and the Cowin app as proof of India’s technological progress and ambition.

“4.4 Bn transactions have happened through the Unified Payment Interface. We should be proud of tech solutions like the Aarogya Setu app made for corona tracking and Cowin for vaccination. The latter’s ability to hand everything from slot booking to certification generation has attracted attention from the biggest countries in the world,” added Modi.

In the meanwhile, Indian crypto users will have to continue to operate in a legal grey area with any protections from the law just as their global counterparts are seeing their countries come up with regulations and standards for crypto assets.