India will introduce its own digital currency and tax cryptocurrencies, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced while presenting the country’s annual budget on Tuesday.
She said the digital currency is to be launched in the coming Indian financial year beginning April.
According to her, it would give a big boost to the digital economy and also lead to a more efficient and cheaper currency management system.
She also said that any income from the transfer of any virtual assets will be taxed at 30 per cent and losses from such transactions will not be tax-deductible.
“The proposals came at a time when research shows that India is one of the fastest-growing cryptocurrency markets in the world.
“At the same time, India’s central bank has warned that without regulation of digital capital, the risk of money laundering, terrorist financing and inflation may increase.’’
In other highlights of the budget, Sitharaman pledged to boost spending on infrastructure to push growth in Asia’s third-largest economy.
India’s GDP is seen to log 9.2 per cent growth in the 2021-22 fiscal year, after contracting by 7.3 per cent during the previous year as coronavirus lockdowns hit economic activity and rendered millions jobless.
It is forecast to grow between 8 to 8.5 per cent in the 2022-23 financial year, the government said in an economic survey released on Monday. (dpa/NAN)
