Tag: nirmala sitharaman

‘Provide a Level Playing Field for Web3 Businesses’: BWA to FM Nirmala Sitharaman

India’s independent Web3 advisory body, the Bharat Web3 Association (BWA), has prepared a message for Nirmala Sitharaman, who returned as the nation’s finance minister for a second term this month. In its message shared with Gadgets360, the BWA said India needs a level playing ground for Web3 startups and businesses to thrive in. At present, India is in the process of deploying regulations to oversee the Web3 sector. The aim is to ensure that India’s crypto circle is safeguarded against the financial risks that volatile digital assets could expose them to.

Web3 needs Government support, BWA says

The BWA, that has a total of 36 members from India’s crypto industry, has been working with the lawmakers to help them draft appropriate rules and regulations to govern over the digital assets sector without hampering its growth.

Now that Sitharaman is back and is expected to present the finalised Union Budget 2024 in the coming days, the BWA has decided to bring the needs of the Web3 sector to her notice.

“The Web3 sector holds immense potential to revolutionise multiple sectors, including finance, governance, and supply chain management while also enhancing transparency and efficiency. Given this, we propose the government to develop a clear regulatory framework for Web3, support virtual digital asset (VDA) providers in their customer focus, and rationalise taxation framework for the digital assets sector,” Dilip Chenoy, the Chairperson of the BWA said in his statement.

The BWA said it is of umpteenth importance that Web3 services get access to the provision of banking services. The advisory body has further urged the government to encourage investment and growth in the Web3 sector. The BWA and its members are concerned that if India delays the creation of a lucrative ecosystem for Web3 to grow in, it could miss out on profitable and technical opportunities as it did during the Web2 era.

India’s current position on Web3

Between 2022 and 2024, India made some milestone decisions on Web3 regulations. Starting July 2021, India brought crypto gains under a tax regime. In India, crypto incomes are taxed by 30 percent whereas one percent TDS is deducted on each crypto transaction. The country has brought the crypto sector under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, that requires all virtual digital asset providers to collect the KYC details of their customers and report any identified suspicious activity to relevant authorities.

During December 2022 and 2023, India served as the President of the G20 group of nations. As part of its presidency, India worked with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Financial Stability Board (FSB) to draft crypto regulations that would work uniformly on a global level.

Despite India’s gradual approach in whole-heartedly welcoming the Web3 sector as part of its financial and industrial ecosystem, the country has shown remarkable growth in blockchain adoption in 2023, as per a report published by Hashed Emergent, a Web3 venture capital firm focussed on India.

From three percent in 2018, India’s global share of blockchain developer pool, rose significantly to 12 percent last year, the report said. The country also reportedly claimed the top spot for on-chain adoption in 2023 over 150 countries, reflecting over 35 million trading accounts on the top Indian exchanges. The report has predicted that India has a promising future in terms of establishing itself as a leader and early creator of Web3 technologies especially because of its large pool of developers.

While the crypto circle in India is hoping for Sitharaman to cut down on crypto taxes, the finance minister has paid no heed to the sector’s urges so far.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated – see our ethics statement for details.

Check out our Latest News and Follow us at Facebook

Original Source

Investors Expect Crypto Tax Could Continue as Nirmala Sitharaman Returns as Finance Minister

India concluded its general elections on June 1, with results last week paving the way for the re-election of Narendra Modi as Prime Minister for a third consecutive term. As part of PM Modi’s newly constituted cabinet, Nirmala Sitharaman has been re-assigned to serve as the finance minister of the country after first taking charge of the ministry in 2019. The crypto community of India has expressed mixed reactions to Sitharaman’s re-appointment as finance minister.

Cryptocurrencies in India have been under Ministry of Finance’s scanner. Since 2022, all profits from crypto transactions in India are subject to a taxation of 30 percent, while a 1 percent Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) is applicable on the transfer of Virtual Digital Assets (VDAs).

Dilip Chenoy, the chairperson of the Bharat Web3 Association (BWA), congratulated the new government and said that the Web3 advisory group would continue to collaborate with officials to foster Web3 growth.

“At BWA, we remain committed to collaborating with the government to foster the growth and development of the Web3 sector, with the aim of establishing India as a global hub for Web3. We look forward to our continued engagement and extend our support to the government for the development of forward-looking regulations that promote innovation while prioritizing consumer protection in the ever-evolving Web3 space,” Chenoy wrote on LinkedIn.

The Indian crypto circle has been waiting for FM Sitharaman to revise the tax laws imposed over the crypto sector. Despite the outcry, the finance minister did not announce any taxation relief for the crypto sector while presenting the interim annual budget earlier this year.

Her re-appointment to the finance minister’s position has sparked concerns among India’s crypto community, who fear that no tax reforms are in the pipeline for the digital assets industry. Many have taken to social media to express their thoughts on the development.

FM Sitharaman is expected to present the full budget for the FY 2024-2025 next month. Crypto commentators are expecting the finance minister to reduce the one percent TDS cut on each crypto transaction to 0.01 percent as part of her upcoming budget presentation.

In March this year, Sitharaman had said that India was not seeing any cryptocurrency as a ‘currency’ option. At the time, Sitharaman had said that “assets created in the name of crypto can be assets for trading, assets for money making and assets for many other things.”

Affiliate links may be automatically generated – see our ethics statement for details.

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who’sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.


Apple Planning AI Integrations With Google Gemini and Other AI Models in the Future: Report


Crypto Romance Scams Rise in the US, FTC Issues Warning: Details



Check out our Latest News and Follow us at Facebook

Original Source

‘Cannot Be Currencies’: FM Nirmala Sitharaman Spells India’s Stance on Crypto

The Web3 sector in India is currently under regulatory maintenance, with the government gradually deploying rules to safeguard the finances involved with the digital assets industry. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman was asked Friday about India’s stance on cryptocurrencies. Sharing her response, the minister said that cryptocurrencies were not seen or perceived as ‘currency’ in India.

Sitharaman was speaking at the India Today Conclave 2024 on Friday when she was asked if the recent bull run in the crypto sector had nudged to government to think about the position of cryptocurrencies in India’s financial space.

In response to the question, Sitharaman reportedly said, “Its (the government’s) position has always been this, that assets created in the name of crypto can be assets for trading, assets for money making and assets for many other things. We haven’t regulated them then, and we haven’t regulated them now. But they cannot be currencies and that’s the Government of India’s position.”

Sitharaman’s statement comes when the crypto sector is on an upward trajectory. Owing to a massive inflow of capital into BTC through US-approved ETFs, Bitcoin price surged to an all-time high of over $73,700 (roughly Rs. 61 lakh) this week. Most popular cryptocurrencies tailed behind BTC on the surge trail, taking the crypto market capitalisation to over $2.7 trillion (roughly Rs. 2,23,78,585 crore).

With features like instant settlements of hefty payments, cheap cross-border money transfers, anonymous transactions, and capability to support tokenisation, the crypto sector offers several reasons for investors to consider them as an alternative to traditional markets.

In fact, earlier this week, the chief of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) cited some of these crypto features while addressing concerns around a potential investor exodus from the traditional markets space towards options like crypto.

The Indian finance minister, however, maintained an unfazed approach towards the developments currently shaping the crypto industry. She also explained the government’s reason of drafting a crypto roadmap for the G20 nations under its presidency last year.

“Currencies are to be issued with a fiat of the government or the central bank of the day. And it is still unregulated in India. If one country regulates it and others don’t, it will be an easy way of moving money, round-tripping, funding drugs or even terrorism. That is why we thought it fit to raise it in the G20 forum, because as it is so technology-driven, it will have a bearing on cross-border payments,” Sitharaman reportedly added.

Supported by blockchain technologies, cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ether are digital assets that carry financial values. For now, trading and holding cryptocurrencies is not illegal in India. Companies operating in the crypto sector must comply with anti-money laundering laws and KYC mandates to ensure crypto funds are not misused for unlawful activities.

To maintain some track of these largely anonymous crypto transactions, the current taxation policy in the country mandates one percent TDS on each crypto transaction. A tax of 30 percent is also levied on crypto profits in the country.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated – see our ethics statement for details.

Check out our Latest News and Follow us at Facebook

Original Source

When Will G20 Nations Adopt Decided Crypto Roadmap? Indian FM Gives Update

India is set to handover the presidency of the G20 nations to Brazil in December, after one year of holding it. During India’s G20 presidency, it worked with global financial institutions on formulating laws to govern the crypto sector on an international level. Prior to the weekend, Indian finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman provided some insights into the status of this crypto roadmap adoption by G20 nations. While Sitharaman said that the G20 roadmap on crypto has been adopted, more clarity will be given by Brazil in the coming months.

“When we move to the Brazilian presidency, given the momentum that the crypto assets issue has picked up in G20, if there is anything emerging, we will know at that time. At the moment, the content of the roadmap is what is before us to act on,” Sitharaman was quoted by Forbes as saying in a recent press briefing.

This essentially means that all the countries that are part of the G20 group, can customise laws based on the decided crypto roadmap and deploy these rules that includes supervision and oversight of global stablecoin arrangements (GSCs) along with support for responsible fintech innovation.

Sitharaman, as part of her update, also noted that as of now there is no specific timeline decided for G20 nations to deploy their customised versions of the crypto roadmap.

In the coming days, the Financial Stability Board (FSB), International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) are expected to check if all nations adopting the crypto roadmap is being put in place without any loopholes for notorious elements to exploit.

This crypto roadmap was finalised with the suggestions of the IMF and the FSB, that also asked crypto-interested nations to leave a margin for domestic judiciary approaches in order to make the sector safe to engage with.

In October, when the G20 nations confirmed the adoption of this roadmap, an official note from G20 had said that, “this detailed and action-oriented roadmap is essential to achieve our common goals of macro-economic and financial stability and to ensure effective, flexible, and coordinated implementation of the comprehensive policy framework for crypto assets.”

Affiliate links may be automatically generated – see our ethics statement for details.

Check out our Latest News and Follow us at Facebook

Original Source

Government Aims to Digitise 3,100 Crore Documents Ahead of Launch of Phase-3 of E-Courts Project

The government plans to digitise over 3,100 crore documents as part of the phase-III of the e-Courts project which is likely to be formally launched soon, sources said on Tuesday.

On the table is also a plan to set up solar power facilities for ensuring seamless availability of information communication (ICT) infrastructure at a cost of Rs. 229.50 crore. A total of 1,530 solar facilities would be installed as part of the project.

The Department of Justice in the Union Law Ministry is coordinating the implementation of phase-III of the ambitious project.

The sources said 3,108 crore documents, including legacy records and pending cases, would be digitised at a cost of Rs. 2038.40 crore in phase-III.

The centrally-sponsored scheme with a timeline of four years was announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her latest Budget speech. The financial outlay has been pegged at Rs. 7,210 crore.

The phase-III of the e-Courts project envisions a judicial system that is more accessible, efficient and equitable for every individual who seeks justice, or is part of the delivery of justice, according to details available in the public domain.

It envisions an infrastructure for the judicial system that is natively digital.

Phase-III will enable any litigant or lawyer to file a case from anywhere and at any time without having to go to multiple windows in the premises of any specific court.

It also intends to create a technology-driven system in which administrative processes such as collection of different kinds of fees and applications are simplified.

Xiaomi launched its camera focussed flagship Xiaomi 13 Ultra smartphone, while Apple opened it’s first stores in India this week. We discuss these developments, as well as other reports on smartphone-related rumours and more on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.
Affiliate links may be automatically generated – see our ethics statement for details.

Check out our Latest News and Follow us at Facebook

Original Source

April to July Period Crucial for Global Crypto Regulations, Hints Nirmala Sitharaman

India, under its ongoing G20 Presidency, is spearheading the process of formulating crypto laws that would work uniformly on an international level and make the sector safer against crimes and misuse. In a fresh development, Indian finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman has disclosed that the three-month period between April and July will be crucial in giving the global crypto rules effort a concrete definition. The World Bank as well as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are also onboard with India and other members of the G20 nations to weigh in on these under-development laws.

Sitharaman, during a press conference on Friday, April 7, said that the IMF and the World Bank will be opening discussions around crypto during their Spring Meeting that will be held later this month in Washington DC, US.

“Step by step on crypto, there’s enough work going on,” the Indian finance minister noted.

The IMF has been working on a paper in consultation with India which will focus on aspects of the monetary policy and the policy approach to crypto assets. The World Bank has been drafting its suggestions and concerns around the crypto sector in its own thesis.

In July, consultation papers from global finance bodies will be tabled for discussion before India and the other G20 nations.

A video of Sitharaman sharing more details on the ongoing crypto policy work is making the rounds on Twitter.

India is currently working with G20 members to create a detailed plan to help the sector grow. Detailed studies on crypto mining, transactions, and other activities are under way.

Since crypto transactions are instant and largely untraceable, the fear around it being misused for criminal purposes like terror financing and money laundering has stirred concerns for several governments around the world.

Currently, while crypto activities and profits are taxed in India and several parts of the world to maintain some track records of the transactions, the sector is unregulated globally.

The world governments are also looking to ensure that the use of crypto does not threaten the financial powers currently at disposal of the central banks.

Smartphone companies have launched many compelling devices over the first quarter of 2023. What are some of the best phones launched in 2023 you can buy today? We discuss this on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.
Affiliate links may be automatically generated – see our ethics statement for details.



Check out our Latest News and Follow us at Facebook

Original Source

India Could See Increase in Manufacturing of iPhones, Other Premium Phones After Tax Cuts on Imported Parts

India expects to manufacture more mobile phones this year after the government eliminated import tariffs on some components used to assemble high-end phones from global companies such as Apple, a tax official told Reuters on Friday.

Indian mobile phone exports nearly doubled year-on-year to $5 billion (roughly Rs. 40,960 crore) between April-October in 2022, primarily supported by the government’s key scheme to offer incentives to local manufacturers.

At the annual budget for 2023/24 on Wednesday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman eliminated the 2.5 percent customs duty on select parts of mobile camera phones.

“The duty structure now encourages them (phone manufacturers) to import parts and assemble here,” V. Rama Mathew, member of India’s Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs, said in an interview.

“The duty changes will benefit all phone sectors. But it will also benefit the premium phone sector because if you see the cost of components, camera assembly contributes substantially,” Mathew said.

The move comes as Apple aims to boost its share of India-produced phones to 25 percent. Apple exports from India hit $1 billion (roughly Rs. 8,190 crore) in December.

The Cupertino, California-based company has bet big on India since it began assembling iPhones in the country in 2017 via Wistron, and later with Foxconn, in line with the Indian government’s push for local manufacturing.

Foxconn plans to quadruple the workforce at its iPhone factory in India over two years, sources told Reuters late last year.

J.P. Morgan analysts have estimated that a quarter of all Apple products would be made outside China by 2025, up from 5 percent currently.

© Thomson Reuters 2023

Affiliate links may be automatically generated – see our ethics statement for details.

Check out our Latest News and Follow us at Facebook

Original Source

RBI to Prepare ‘Whitelist’ of Approved Instant Finance Apps Amid Proliferation of Illegal Loan Apps

In recent days, the law enforcement agencies of India have been tracking and tracking risky loan apps that have been operating in the country unlawfully. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has taken notice of these fraudulent instant loan apps and has directed the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to prepare a ‘whitelist’ of instant finance apps, that are genuinely clear to operate in the nation. Several low-income Indians have, off late, found themselves being trapped by predatory loan apps and have ended up getting exposed to dangerous financial and physical risks.

Once the whitelist is prepared, India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) will ensure that only the apps with RBI clearance will feature on application stores.

“RBI will ensure that registration of payment aggregators be completed within a timeframe and no un-registered payment aggregator be allowed to function after that. Steps should be taken to increase cyber awareness for customers, bank employees, law enforcement agencies and other stakeholders,” the government said in a press release.

The decision comes a day after Sitharaman chaired a meeting with RBI and finance ministry officials to discuss various issues related to ‘illegal loan apps’ that have been operating in the country under the nose of the regular banking channels.

As part of the meeting, Sitharaman also expressed concerns regarding the predatory recovery practices that these illegal loan apps have been resorting to. These include blackmailing and criminal intimidation.

“Sitharaman also noted the possibility of money laundering, tax evasions, breach/privacy of data, and misuse of unregulated payment aggregators, shell companies, defunct NBFCs etc. for perpetrating such actions,” the government’s press release added.

Earlier last week, India’s financial watchdog, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) raided six online payment gateway locations in Bengaluru due to alleged irregularities in mobile app-based loans that were ‘managed’ by Chinese individuals. The police also seized Rs. 17 crore from the raided firms that included Razorpay, Paytm, and Cashfree among others.

Sitharaman’s decision to have the RBI make a whitelist of finance apps has seemingly been triggered by these raids.

In fact, on Friday, September 9 itself, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy asked state officials to take action against online money-lending apps after a couple from Rajahmundry in the East Godavari district died by suicide earlier this week due to harassment by the agents of a loan app.



Check out our Latest News and Follow us at Facebook

Original Source

Exit mobile version