On Tuesday, Pankaj Chaudhary, Minister of State for Finance, told the Rajya Sabha that the government does not plan to introduce cryptocurrency.
He said that cryptocurrencies are not regulated in India in a written response.
According to him, the RBI does not issue a cryptocurrency. The RBI issues traditional paper currency by the RBI Act of 1994. The digital version of conventional paper currency is Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).
In another reply, he stated that RBI is working on a phased introduction strategy for CBDC and is considering use cases that can be adopted with little to no disruption.
CBDC can offer considerable benefits, such as reducing dependence on cash, decreasing transaction costs, and a higher senseiorage, he added.
He said the printing of notes has declined over time, adding that during 2019-20, Rs 4,378 crore worth of notes were printed, which fell to Rs 4,012 crore in 2020-21.
He explained that many factors contribute to the country’s financial health.
He said a stable stock market and well-functioning market infrastructure are vital indicators to assess a country’s financial health. Stock market prices reflect the market’s outlook for future corporate earnings and hence the level of confidence in the economy, he said.
However, he said, stock markets are primarily dictated by economic and geopolitical factors in the short run.
He said that a broker is liable for the exchange’s transaction fees, which may be passed on to clients, adding that the transaction fee is listed in the contract note the broker issues to the client.
He said that each broker issues a contract note to clients at the end of each day of trading that includes the taxes levied on sales and purchases of stocks.
