Banning cryptocurrency in India is not constructive: Nasscom

The Indian information technology industry body has opposed the recent proposal of the government’s inter-ministerial committee to ban all cryptocurrencies barring those that are backed by the central government.

The National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom) said on Tuesday, “Instead, the government should work towards developing a risk-based framework to regulate and monitor cryptocurrencies and tokens. A ban would inhibit new applications and solutions from being deployed and would discourage tech startups. It would handicap India from participating in new use cases that cryptocurrencies and tokens offer.”

It further said a ban is more likely to deter only the legitimate operators as they have no intent to be non-compliant.

Last week, a government panel, tasked with examining virtual currencies, recommended outright banning of private cryptocurrencies in India, with imprisonment of upto 10 years for anyone dealing…