Bitcoin trade may come under SEBI
The government is considering
the introduction of a
regulatory regime for virtual
or crypto currencies,
such as Bitcoin, that would
enable the levy of the
Goods and Services Tax on
their sale.
Crypto-currencies are digital currencies which allow transacting parties to remain anonymous while confirming that the transaction is a valid one.
Risk involved :They are not owned/controlled by anyone-government or private
At present a Bit-coin value is = 60 gm of gold
There are multiple such
currencies — Bitcoin, Ethereum
and Ripple are some
of the popular ones.
Currently,
they are neither illegal
nor legal in India
The market cap for all
crypto-currencies has just
crossed $100 billion, with
most of the increase coming
in the past few months. On
April 1, the total market cap
was just over $25 billion, representing
a 300% rise in just
over 60 days
The idea is to treat such
currency in a manner similar
to gold sold digitally, so
that it can be traded on registered
exchanges in a bid
to “promote” a formal tax
base, while keeping a tab
on their use for illegal
activities such as money
laundering, terror funding
and drug trafficking.
Advantages of recognising Bit-coin/Crypto-currency
[i] It would enable the levy of the Goods and Services Tax on their sale
[ii]Regulatory may possibly bring their trading under the oversight of the stock market regulator,SEBI
Disadvantages
[i] It allow transacting parties to remain anonymous while confirming that the transaction is a valid one.
[ii]It might lead to proliferation of Black Money
[iii]Tantamount to legitimise speculative risk taking
Bitcoins were in the news
recently when during the
two global cyber ransomware
attacks — WannaCry
and Petya — attackers sought
about $300 in bitcoin as
ransom.
Banning will give a clear
message that all related
activities are illegal and will
disincentivise those interested
in taking speculative
risks
India-China trade
talks deadlocked
- Trade talks between India and China remained deadlocked with neither side willing to offer concessions to end the impasse
- Recent bilateral talks on issues relating to farm products, which took place in the backdrop of the military standoff in the Doklam area of the India-BhutanChina tri-junction, failed to make any headway
- China deferred taking a decision on grant of market access to Indian rice, pomegranate, okra and bovine meat, while India opted to stick to its ban on imports of apple, pear, milk and milk products from China
- China is yet to lift the import ban on India’s bovine meat that it had first imposed in 1990 in the wake of incidence of Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) in India.
- “India has an alarming trade deficit that in our view emanates from obstacles to market access in China,” Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar said.
- India’s goods trade deficit with China, which had ballooned to $52.7 billion in 2015-16 from just $1.1 billion in 2003-04, eased marginally to $51.1 billion in 2016-17.
Cabinet clears widening of Manipur-Myanmar road
The Union government on
Wednesday approved a
₹1,630 crore road project in
Manipur, which is a vital
link in providing road connectivity
up to Thailand and
Malaysia,
The Cabinet Committee
on Economic Affairs gave its
nod for upgradation and
widening of 65 kms of the
Imphal-Moreh Section of
National Highway 39 in Manipur
Landlocked Manipur, with
almost 90% of the area under
difficult terrain, has
only road transport as a
means of mass transport
system.
The project will be
developed with Asian Development
Bank (ADB)’s loan
assistance under the under
the South Asian Sub-Regional
Economic Cooperation
(SASEC) Road Connectivity
Investment
Program which aims at improving
road connectivity in
Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal
and India (BBIN).
China sends PLA unit to man overseas base
China has dispatched
People’s Liberation Army
(PLA) personnel to man its
first overseas military base at
Djibouti in the strategic Indian
Ocean region, a move
likely to spark concerns in
the U.S.
Ships carrying Chinese
military personnel departed to set up a support
base in Djibouti, located in
the Horn of Africa
The base will
ensure China’s performance
of missions, such as escorting,
peace-keeping and humanitarian
aid in Africa and
West Asia
It is the first such base being
set up by China. The
second base is coming up in
Gwadar, Pakistan, which
links up with China through
the $50 billion ChinaPakistan
Economic Corridor
The base will also conduct
overseas tasks, including military
cooperation, joint exercises,
evacuating and protecting
overseas Chinese and
emergency rescue, as well as
jointly maintaining security
of international strategic
seaways
Nod for Bangladesh JIN pact
- In a bid to boost bilateral investments between India and Bangladesh, the Cabinet gave its approval for the Joint Interpretative Notes (JIN) on the Agreement between both the nations for the Promotion and Protection of Investments.
- The JIN would impart clarity to the interpretation of the existing Agreement between India and Bangladesh for the Promotion and Protection of Investments.
- The JIN includes interpretative notes to be jointly adopted for many clauses, including,-- the definition of investor, definition of investment, exclusion of taxation measures, Fair and Equitable Treatment, National Treatment and Most Favoured Nation treatment, expropriation, essential security interests and Settlement of Disputes between an Investor-and a Contracting Party, an official statement said.
- Joint Interpretative Statements, in general, play an important supplementary role in strengthening the investment treaty regime.
- With increasing Bilateral Investment Treaty disputes, issuance of such statements is likely to have strong persuasive value before tribunals, the statement said, adding that such pro-active approach by States can foster a more predictable and coherent reading of treaty terms by arbitration tribunals.
