India’s Finance Panel Tackles Crypto… or Maybe Not? 🚀💸

by

The Standing Committee on Finance of the Lok Sabha will meet on September 8, 2025, to discuss virtual digital assets (VDAs). The session is scheduled for Committee Room ‘1’ at the Extension Parliament House Annexe, starting at 11 am. Imagine a room so important, its number is also the committee’s name. A marvel of bureaucratic logic, truly.

The notice, issued by Bharti Sanjeev Tuteja, Director of the Standing Committee on Finance, said the meeting will include a “Briefing by the representatives of the Ministry of Finance (Department of Economic Affairs) on the subject ‘A Study on Virtual Digital Assets (VDAs) and Way Forward’.” One wonders if the “Way Forward” is a map or a riddle. Probably a riddle.

Agenda papers will be circulated to members via the Members’ Portal and email. Members have been requested to “kindly make it convenient to attend the Sitting.” A polite reminder that attending is optional, but refusing might involve a very long form and a suspiciously cheerful bureaucrat.

Steps Toward Regulation

The meeting comes amid growing government focus on cryptocurrency regulation. From April 1, 2027, India plans to implement the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF), developed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). A framework so complex, it’s like trying to explain a joke in a language you’ve never heard. But hey, at least it’s not a spreadsheet.

The framework aims to ensure Indian residents’ offshore cryptocurrency holdings are reported for taxation. A senior Finance Ministry official said legislative and technical preparations for the framework are already underway. Or, as they say in the trade, “We’re not sure what we’re doing, but we’re doing it with great enthusiasm.”

India is also expected to sign the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement (MCAA) next year, a global arrangement for automatic exchange of tax information. A similar agreement signed in 2015 covered traditional financial accounts, but cryptocurrencies require a separate arrangement under CARF. Because nothing says “global cooperation” like a new set of rules for the thing everyone’s secretly using.

India Leads Global Crypto Adoption

India has stayed on top globally for crypto adoption for the third year in a row. According to Chainalysis’ 2025 Global Crypto Adoption Index, India is number one, with the US coming in second. A triumph for a country where even the street vendors might be using a wallet app. Or is that just the local bank?

The report analysed 151 countries and assessed crypto activity based on retail usage, institutional involvement, centralized exchanges, and decentralized finance (DeFi) participation, adjusted for GDP per capita. A study so thorough, it’s like a detective story but with more graphs and fewer murders.

Significance of the Panel Meeting Crypto in India has always been in a grey area. Industry watchers are hopeful this upcoming panel meeting will help clear things up and show the government’s plan for digital assets. Lawmakers will go over the current rules, talk about the issues, and figure out how crypto can fit into India’s financial system, giving clarity to investors and institutions. Or, as one cynic put it, “They’ll discuss it until it’s no longer a mystery, then invent a new one.”

Read More

2025-09-05 16:43