Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today held an inter-ministerial meeting to examine risks related to virtual currencies (VCs) like bitcoins.
Several issues concerning bitcoins were discussed, according to sources. The meeting was attended by IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Arvind Panagariya, Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi, Economic Affairs Secretary Tapan Ray, Financial Services Secretary Anjuly Chib Duggal and other senior officials.
The government has been debating over issues concerning bitcoins and had last month sought public opinion on allowing virtual currencies.
The circulation of VCs has been a cause of concern among central bankers the world over for quite a while now. Reserve Bank of India had also cautioned the users, holders and traders of VCs, including bitcoins.
In March, the Finance Ministry had constituted an Inter- Disciplinary Committee to take stock of the present status of VCs both in India and globally and suggest measures for dealing with such currencies.