Analyst: 2024 Indian general election not expected to immediately impact cryptocurrency policy

The 2024 general elections in India are not expected to have an immediate impact on cryptocurrency policy, with current restrictive rules expected to continue during the upcoming parliamentary term, with the results expected to be announced on June 4. Several industry analysts said that no changes are expected to be made to cryptocurrency policy after the next legislators are elected, which will lead to the continuation of rules that have stifled the country's digital asset ecosystem in the short term. The two main political parties in India, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Nationalist Congress (INC), have not mentioned the words cryptocurrency, blockchain or Web3 in their election manifestos. However, this does not necessarily reflect their plans for the ecosystem. The Indian government and political stakeholders often use euphemisms to refer to the cryptocurrency-related field. The BJP's manifesto said that the party will educate the elderly to avoid digital scams, take strict action against those who threaten the country's digital sovereignty, and will develop "digital public infrastructure to eliminate information asymmetry in the agricultural sector." The INC said it will give farmers the option to upload their agricultural product sales agreements on a "digital ledger" and "work to address digital/cybersecurity issues that may threaten India's digital financial infrastructure." Cryptocurrency policies so far during Modi's second term include high taxes, such as a 30% tax on profits from the sale of digital assets, no ability to offset losses, a 1% tax at source on each transaction, and a requirement for exchanges to register with India's anti-money laundering and terrorist financing regulator. These policies and other enforcement actions have put the industry in a difficult position. (CoinDesk)