India Targeting One Million CBDC Users in Three Months, Prioritizing Offline Transfers: Sources
India's retail central bank digital currency (CBDC-R) architects are aiming to scale the use of the digital rupee to one million users, according to sources. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is running both retail and wholesale CBDC pilots, with the retail CBDC pilot active in at least 15 cities with over 13 banks participating. The RBI is hoping to conduct offline transactions by testing the use of wearables, cards like debit and credit, bluetooth technology, and a smartphone, with more than 50 proposals submitted to the RBI to solve the problem of offline transactions. The RBI has not announced a timeline for rolling out a full-scale retail CBDC but has previously indicated it was aiming for the end of the year.
Finance Ministry to Review GSTN Portal and GST Systems on April 4
The Indian Finance Ministry has scheduled a meeting on April 4, 2023, to examine the current Goods and Services Tax (GST) systems and the functioning of the GSTN portal, ahead of plans to integrate technologies like advanced data analytics and artificial intelligence in the coming year to identify tax evaders. The meeting will cover various topics including the practical ways of submitting tax returns and the current technical challenges. The GST collection in March 2023 reached INR 1.6 lakh crore, a 13% increase and the second biggest tax collection since the introduction of the indirect tax in July 2017. The meeting aims to ensure that the GST portal functions correctly for the upcoming fiscal year, with the Centre’s GST revenue for FY23-FY24 projected to increase by 12% to INR 9.56 lakh crore.
India’s 1% TDS on Crypto Transfers Yields $19 Million in 9 Months
Indian tax authorities collected Rs 158 crore (approx. $19 million) in TDS on the transfer of virtual digital assets (VDA) till March 20, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary told the Parliament on Tuesday.
Crypto Evening Briefing: 3 Crypto Firms Land on the World’s Top 10 Leading Fintech Unicorns List
According to data acquired by Finbold, three cryptocurrency firms with a cumulative valuation of $42.3 billion made it to the list of top 10 leading fintech unicorns globally as of Q4 2022.
India Raked In Over $19.2M in Crypto Tax in the 2023 Fiscal Year
According to the Union Finance Ministry, tax collected at source on payments made upon the transfer of virtual digital assets totaled $19.2 million for the fiscal year up to March 20, 2023.
The Algorand Foundation Branches Out to India
Blockchain protocol Algorand has launched AlgoBharat, a project aimed at supporting India's transition to the Web3 world by focusing on real-world blockchain utility in the country. AlgoBharat won't have a registered entity in India but will have a dedicated team. The project is broken up into three pillars: broadening the Web3 developer base through education and events at universities; focusing on startups transitioning from Web2 to Web3, and focusing on high-profile use case partnerships with central and state governments. Algorand has already announced partnerships with the state of Maharashtra, SEWA, Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, the Indian School of Business, and T-Hub. (Coindesk)
India Asks State-Run Banks to Conduct More Robust Stress Tests
India has asked state-owned banks to focus on their stress testing methods after they were found to have fallen behind on developing models that are meant to ward off risks of failure.
India's Crypto Community Could Surpass 156 Million by Year-End: Statista Report
By 2027, the number of users in the Cryptocurrencies segment in India is expected to reach 191.80 million,.
India to Have Over 150 Million Crypto Users by the End of 2023? (Study)
According to a recent Statista report, India’s crypto community could surge to more than 156 million members by the end of the year.
Crypto Goes Mainstream in India as Investor Numbers Surge
Bringing greater visibility as well as solving the regulatory uncertainties and modifying tax regulations which are unfavorable to stakeholders would go a long way toward bolstering the growing Cryptocurrency usage in India.
