Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Seeks Common Framework for Cryptocurrency, Says Major Part of Discussions Under India's G20 Presidency [Advance Cash ]

The Finance Minister briefed the group on India's conscious policy choices and structural and governance reforms that have laid the foundation for the Indian economy to sustain growth to its full potential.

New Delhi: Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Tuesday that cryptocurrencies were a very important part of discussions under India's G20 Presidency.

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During a speech in Washington, the finance minister said, “Given so many meltdowns and shocks in cryptocurrencies. We are looking to develop a common framework for all countries to address this issue.” She was participating in a panel discussion on “Long-Term Investment Opportunities: Rising India” with business leaders and investors.

In January this year, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das made strong remarks against cryptocurrency.

"RBI's position is very clear, it should be banned, all of them," Das said during a speech at the Business Today Banking and Economy Summit. "Blockchain technology must be supported," the governor added.

The panel discussion attended by Ms. Sitharaman was organized by the industry body CII, the US India Business Council and the US Chamber. A diverse set of investors, including senior executives, private sector business leaders, venture capitalists, institutional investors, and pension and endowment fund representatives attended the roundtable.

The Finance Minister briefed the group on India's conscious policy choices and structural and governance reforms that have laid the foundation for the Indian economy to sustain growth to its full potential.

"Nowadays, free trade agreements are signed in a much faster way. We just concluded one with Australia. Earlier, we concluded with the United Arab Emirates, Mauritius and ASEAN. We extended the quota-free and duty-free regime to least developed countries,” she says.

Nirmala Sitharaman also highlighted India's robust public digital infrastructure, such as the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) and the Account Aggregator platform, which enabled small entrepreneurs to access credit and other services. digital.

She said that in a world full of post-pandemic challenges, India offers political certainty, skilled workforce, high rate of adaptation to digital technologies, which translates into a wealth of opportunities. of investment. She also urged participants to be part of India's exciting transformation journey towards greater prosperity, better living standards for its citizens and higher returns for investors.