As the Winter Session of Parliament comes to a close, the Cryptocurrency Bill is not on the Cabinet agenda today. The government is still working on finalising the Bill on Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency, sources told CNBC-TV18.

The sources added that only one Crypto Standing Committee meeting has taken place. The bill has a lot of issues and it needs to be fine-tuned, it added.

Earlier this month, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the government has no plans to boost the cryptocurrency sector in India. The ministry said since cryptocurrencies are unregulated in the country, the government does not collect data on the sector.

In the bill, the government plans to ban all private cryptocurrencies, "with certain exceptions." It is also seeking to build a framework for the adoption of a central bank digital currency (CBDC). A CBDC is introduced by central banks, as opposed to private players, the Fin Min said.

Also, the Cabinet is unlikely to take up Banking Laws Bill 2021 today as it is not listed for approval too. The bill has to enable provisions to facilitate privatisation of public sector banks.

The Winter Session commenced on November 29 and will end on December 23.

First Published:Dec 15, 2021 9:39 AM IST