Telecom Industry Calls Upon Government, Cryptocurrencies to Be Considered as Commodities & other TMT Updates

Telecom Industry Calls Upon Government Support to Assist In Technological Progress
A plethora of CEOs of Indian telecommunications companies, at the prominent nationwide event of the ETTelecomm’s India Mobile Conclave 2021 on Friday September 5th, stated that in order for India to experience a greater technological revolution, greater governmental assistance needs to become a prerequisite.
 
Conclaves such as this particular one serve as an extremely prospective opportunity for the proposal of nascent technologies, advocating for greater policy changes as well as more remunerative reforms to transpire. With untapped technologies such as 5G being on the verge of gaining entrance into Indian markets, governmental benefaction and assistance is an absolute necessity in order to optimise the financial and industrial growth of the telecommunications and technological industries, as well as in the facilitation of emerging technologies.
 
In order to promote prospective economic enhancements, and drive India towards procuring greater digitisation, a financially robust and stable technological and telecommunications industry needs to be established through the provisions of subsidies, a more PSU-oriented, as well as the receiving of greater government expenditure towards sustaining such future-centric industries.
 
Vodafone Idea CEO & MD Ravinder Takkar, Airtel India and South Asia CEO & MD Gopal Vittal as well as Reliance Jio - just to name a few all expressed the requirement for enhancement government proactiveness during the session, highlighting the exigence of such assistance in order to permit for successful industrial growth.
 
 
Cryptocurrencies to Be Considered as Commodities
With significant unpredictability existing for the future of cryptocurrencies in India, the government is planning to enact a bill which will classify cryptocurrencies as a commodity/asset for all monetary purposes and their use cases, including but not limited to taxation, investments as well as payments. The bill is expected to redefine and specify tax treatment for the new age asset class, and will serve as the first instance in which the cryptocurrencies will be sectionalised on the basis of their principle technological functioning.
 
The impetus of the government would be developed based on the end utilisation of the crypto asset class, which will significantly assist in the production of regulation to govern cryptocurrencies to a greater extent. This particular bill will enable for authorities to be capable of enlisting cryptocurrency trading in the books of accounts and tax appropriately, and provide specific, unequivocal, revised definitions of cryptocurrencies, and only cryptocurrencies which have been recognised under these new definitions will be permitted to operate in India.
 
This move can be seen as a boost in morale for the meticulous network of cryptoinvestors in the nation as well as foreign cryptoinvestors, as it would minimise the immense preexisting tempestuous and ambiguous stances previously exhibited through the government.
 
Cryptocurrencies in India are devoid of corroborative legal status, and heavy considerations for complete interdictions of cryptocurrencies in the country have been significantly debated upon.
 
Crypto CEOs have already expressed their approval for the speculated bill, such as WazirX’s Co-founder and CEO Nischal Shetty who verbalised that the bill “will bring more clarity for the entire industry and push more entrepreneurs into this sector. It will reduce the fear of VC investors wanting to invest in the crypto industry in India”.
 
This proposed enactment will cement the future, feasibility as well as acceptability of cryptocurrencies in India, and highlights how authorities could potentially be inclining towards regulation, as opposed to complete prohibition.

By Ronojoy Borpujari