The price of bitcoin, the bestselling cryptocurrency, has shrunk nearly three times this year to mark the fate of such digital assets. Crashing prices, regulatory uncertainty and taxes have put Indian crypto exchanges in troubled waters. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's budget for FY23 announced a 30 per cent tax on any income from the transfer of virtual digital assets.
Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das on Wednesday said underlying economic activity in India continues to be strong, but external factors will cause some "dent" to the economy. Speaking at the BFSI Insight Summit 2022 organised by Business Standard, Das said the RBI tracks 70 fast moving indicators and most of them are in the "green box". It is the external sector, mired by a fear of recession or clear visibility about slowing growth in a large part of the world, where the challenges lie, he said, adding that the impact of external demand will "dent" the economy.
The Income-Tax (I-T) Department nowadays provides pre-filled forms to make the filing of income-tax return (ITR) easier. Nonetheless, you must have a number of documents handy at the time of filing return so that you can cross-check the data in the pre-filled form. "Filing ITR doesn't require you to upload any document. But in case an assessing officer makes an inquiry, you will need to present documents and certificates as proof," says Deepak Jain, chief executive, TaxManager.in.
Investors continue to back-up equity mutual funds in June as such schemes attracted a net inflow of Rs 15,498 crore on strong flows from systematic investment plans despite volatility in the stock market and relentless selling by Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs). This also marked the 16th straight month of positive inflow in equity schemes. Inflows into equity mutual funds in June was lower compared to the net inflow of Rs 18,529 crore seen in May, data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) showed on Friday.
A sharp fall in the price of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies is another hard blow to the already sinking cryptocurrency market in India. Global and domestic prices have been on a downward trail since November last year when Bitcoin prices hit a peak of close to $68,000 in international markets. The recent past has seen a much sharper fall in the price of the leading cryptocurrency, Bitcoin.
Like software-as-a-service (SaaS), CaaS has emerged as a well-orchestrated ecosystem for cybercriminals.
Fan tokens are a type of cryptocurrency that allow holders to vote
Do you suspect that your partner is cheating on you and want to find out the truth by installing spyware on their phone? Or, perhaps you are a student who wants to get out of an online classroom so you can play an online game with friends? How about some Zoom raiding for a mere Rs 50-100? Or, are you a person who wishes to hack into someone's phone or laptop, and steal their financial details? Crimeware-as-a-Service (CaaS) allows you to do all this and more.
The pharmacy, identified by the federal anti-narcotics agency as JR Infinity Pvt Ltd, was located at Domalguda in Telangana's capital city.
The announcement came late Monday evening - and broke the internet. Elon Musk, the world's richest man, had bought microblogging site Twitter for a neat $44 billion. The little blue bird, which is known to take on many avatars depending on the mood, leanings and interests of who it is chirping for, went into overdrive. While some Twitter users flooded the site with memes and humorous takes on the move, the deal also had a fair share of critics.
With days to go before the new tax regime around crypto assets kicks in, several investors are reportedly either booking profits, rejigging their portfolios or moving their crypto assets to their private wallets outside of India. Starting April, gains from trading in crypto and other virtual assets like non-fungible tokens (NFTs) will be taxed at a flat 30 per cent, as announced in the Union Budget. And, 1 per cent of tax will be deducted at source (TDS) on every transaction involving crypto and other virtual assets. The new tax regime also bars investors from offsetting losses from one crypto asset (such as Bitcoin) against gains from another (say, Ethereum).
The Centre has recovered around Rs 95.86 crore from at least 11 crypto exchanges for evading goods and services tax (GST), according to data released by Parliament on Monday. The amount includes interest and penalty. The GST investigation department has detected a total tax evasion of Rs 81.54 crore by crypto exchanges that include WazirX, Coin DCX, CoinSwitch Kuber, Buy Ucoin, UnoCoin and Flitpay, among other exchanges. In a written reply to Lok Sabha, minister of state (MoS) for finance Pankaj Chaudhary said 11 cases of GST evasion by cryptocurrency exchanges have been detected by central GST formations.
The Supreme Court on Monday asked a crypto-currency scam accused to disclose the username and password of his bitcoin wallet to the Enforcement Directorate and cooperate with the investigation in the money laundering case against him.
NCP leader Malik was arrested by the ED last month in a money laundering case. Following a complaint filed by the minister's son Amir Malik, the V B Nagar police registered the FIR late Wednesday night, he said.
"It is now under control. We are speaking with Twitter to ascertain the exact reason," a party leader said.
Reserve Bank Deputy Governor Michael Patra on Wednesday said the central bank's views about cryptocurrencies might have delayed the government's proposed legislation on crypto assets. Emphasising that the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) will be introduced in FY23 as announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Budget speech, Patra said India will proceed very gradually on the subject as there are concerns on privacy, its impact on monetary policy formulation and energy intensity. The government had plans to introduce a bill on cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin during the Winter Session of Parliament in November-December 2021 but did not introduce it.
While the tax treatment does legitimise past crypto transactions, there is a possibility that any, or all, private cryptocurrencies will be banned in future.
Avoid thinking of investment as some 'become millionaire in a week' scheme, says Nikhil Sethi, founder and MD, Zuvomo, a crowdfunding firm. Always think of long term gains and plan your trades accordingly.
'The Digital Rupee will be equal to the Indian rupee in value and backed by the full faith and credit of the RBI/Indian government.'
No Service Chief to date has had the guts to streamline the procedure in conjunction with the Election Commission and ensure every soldier votes in his/her place of posting, observes Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (retd).
The future of cryptocurrencies in India appears uncertain but that has not deterred young Indians from embracing the so-called 'fourth industrial revolution' world, where interconnectivity and smart automation, much of it relying on blockchain technology, drive human civilisation. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das has repeatedly warned of macroeconomic instability and even "serious consequences" if cryptocurrencies turn mainstream. The country's monetary authority wants a China-like total ban on crypto, not even allowing these currencies to be treated as investments. Though Parliament's website had listed the Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill as one seeking a total ban of cryptocurrencies in the country, it was not presented in the Winter Session. India now has the highest number of cryptocurrency investors in the world.
After the massive tax evasion of GST by cryptocurrency service provider WazirX, the Directorate General of GST Intelligence has come down heavily on cryptocurrency exchanges operating in the country, said sources. "Around half a dozen offices of cryptocurrency service providers have been searched and massive Goods and Service Tax (GST) evasion has been detected by DGGI," sources told ANI. Crypto wallet and exchange are platforms where merchants and consumers can transact with digital assets like bitcoin, ethereum, ripple, etc.
'For someone who wants to invest for the future or his family, diversification is necessary.' 'Diversify across asset classes -- equities, gold, real estate, fixed income, commodities, and even cryptocurrency.'
'India should start leveraging rather than banning crypto.'
Tharoor questioned about the alleged hacking of phones using spyware Pegasus, to which the officials responded that the matter is subjudice.
Blockchain's promise: Dramatically speeding up transactions, explains Ajit Balakrishnan.
The tweet, after Modi's personal handle was hacked, also claimed that India has officially bought 500 BTC and is distributing them among its residents and shared a link, asking people to hurry up.
The top hashtag in India was #COVID19, as the country grappled with the deadly second wave of the pandemic.
'In the business of money, where you are regulated, the liability lies on the head of the acquirer.' 'It is not a good thing when you cannot spot the risks.'
'Any entrepreneur who wants to create companies on blockchain will have to move outside India.' 'A ban will also wipe out the entire asset investing class that has built up in India.'
It is not the job of regulators to ensure that users make profits. It is not the job of regulators to prevent people from making losses. It is not the job of regulators to prevent people from doing stupid things, argues Ajay Shah.
With his elevation as the CEO of Twitter, Parag Agrawal, in whom co-founder of the microblogging giant Jack Dorsey has "bone-deep" trust, joins the growing power club of Indian-origin executives helming US-based global multinationals. Twitter's outgoing CEO Dorsey announced on Monday that 37-year old Agrawal, an Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay and Stanford University alumnus, will be the company's new chief executive as he stepped down after 16 years at the company that he co-founded and helmed. A report in The New York Times said Agrawal will receive an annual salary of $1 million, in addition to bonuses, restricted stock units and performance-based stock units.
Many businesses hire blockchain developers to provide the finest solutions and establish new technologies by utilising their superior expertise.
The cryptocurrency industry on Wednesday urged the government to take a nuanced approach towards regulating crypto assets in India and asked investors in the country to remain calm and not arrive at a rushed conclusion, a day after the government listed for introduction a Bill to ban all such cryptocurrencies, with some exceptions.
Traders who pay in rupees generate over Rs 50 crore in daily cryptocurrency volumes. Indians actually invest a great deal more in forex-denominated trades, observes Devangshu Dutta, explaining why it is impossible to ban cryptocurrency.
Currently, there is no regulation or any ban on the use of cryptocurrencies in the country.
The government is mulling changes in the income tax laws to bring cryptocurrencies under the tax net, with some changes that could form part of the Budget next year, a top official said. Revenue secretary Tarun Bajaj said that in terms of income tax, some people are already paying capital gains tax on the income from cryptocurrency, and in respect of Goods and Services Tax (GST) also the law is "very clear" that the rate would be applicable as those in case of other services.
Modi cautioning that cryptocurrency can spoil the youth.
Sharpening the attack against Congress and defending the government, three state ministers dubbed the opposition party leaders as 'experts' in creating fake news, as they challenged them to provide evidence or name those involved in the scam.
Amid concerns over misleading claims of huge returns on cryptocurrency investment, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday chaired a meeting on the way forward on the issue, with government sources asserting that such unregulated markets cannot be allowed to become avenues for "money laundering and terror financing".