A new cryptocurrency bill aims to prohibit private players from participating.

In the winter session of Parliament, which begins on November 29, the Union Government will introduce a Bill to regulate cryptocurrency and ostensibly outlaw all private cryptocurrencies, as well as 25 other bills.

The Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2021, which has yet to be officially approved by the Cabinet, aims to create a framework that will make it easier for the Reserve Bank of India to develop an official digital currency.

a test project

The central bank intends to start a pilot project for an official digital currency in the near future.

"The Bill also aims to make all private cryptocurrencies illegal in India." According to the declared purpose of the Bill in a Lok Sabha bulletin and the tentative list of the government's legislative agenda for Rajya Sabha, it "allows for specific exclusions to promote the underlying technology of cryptocurrency and its uses."

So far, Bill's particular contours have not been made public, and no public discussions have taken place.

The Finance Ministry has kept quiet about the Bill, which was ready for Cabinet approval as early as August.

There are no specifics.

Queries to the media concerning who would be held liable if investors who bet on crypto assets that are widely publicized lost a lot of money were answered with silence.

When Prime Minister Narendra Modi convened a meeting on November 13 with the top brass of the central bank and the Ministries of Home Affairs and Finance to assess the regulatory prospects for cryptocurrencies, a consensus was reached to end "attempts to mislead the youth through over-promising and non-transparent advertising."

It was also decided that unregulated cryptocurrency marketplaces cannot be used for money laundering or terrorist financing.

When the Standing Committee on Finance met with cryptocurrency stakeholders last Monday, industry officials agreed that the crypto sector needed to be regulated, but they were unable to respond to key issues posed by legislators.

Aside from the proposed cryptocurrency law, the government has also listed a Bill to repeal the three contentious agriculture regulations of 2020, as promised by Prime Minister Modi last Friday, after they sparked a year-long protest from a segment of the farming community.

The Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act of 2020, the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance, Farm Services Act of 2020, and the Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act of 2020 are the three laws.

The Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2021, has also been added to the government's list of bills, with the goal of eliminating all cross-subsidies and requiring all consumers to pay the true cost of supplies. Farmers and rural users may end up paying the highest electricity prices because the cost of supplies in rural areas is substantially higher than in urban ones.

Several non-BJP state governments have objected to the Bill, which was scheduled in the Monsoon session of Parliament but not introduced to avoid more confrontation with the Opposition, which was protesting the Pegasus Project allegations at the time.

Three government-issued ordinances, including revisions to the Central Vigilance Commission Act of 2003, the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act of 1985, and the statute governing the Central Bureau of Investigation, will be tabled for review and passage.