Less prescriptive, more principle-based legal framework to be put in place for India's Techade: MoS IT

New Delhi, Jan 19 (PTI) The government will put in place a less prescriptive, more principle-based legal framework to catalyse 'India's Techade', Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar said on Thursday.

On cryptocurrency, the minister said there is no issue with crypto if all laws and rules of the land are followed, according to an official statement.

Chandrasekhar made it clear that the government will put in place a less prescriptive and more principle-based comprehensive legal framework for catalysing India's Techade -- referring to the country's rapid strides in technology.

"The Government is working on a comprehensive legal framework that will include legislations like the proposed Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, the National Data Governance Framework, the amended IT rules etc and the upcoming Digital India Act -- which will be less prescriptive and more principle-based-to enable and support a vibrant startup and innovation ecosystem," he said.

The minister was addressing the Itech Law International Conference 2023 in Bengaluru that was also attended by legal luminaries and experts.

He asserted that the government has always held stakeholders’ views as important, and said: "The efficacy, implementation and acceptance of any bill or legislation is as good as how many minds come together to help in its draft." "Our effort has been to involve as many stakeholders as possible in the process of law making. It is the government's legislation as much as it's the stakeholders’ legislation." Later during an interactive session, Chandrasekhar pointed out that India will lead the world in all things blockchain -- both in size and scale and web 3.0 migration.

In reply to a query on cryptocurrency, the minister said: "There is nothing today that outlaws crypto as long as you follow the legal process." "If you want to invest in crypto, make sure you go through the RBI, get your LRS eligibility, the dollars as per rules," the release quoted the minister as saying.

He then visited the NXP office in Bengaluru and met their leadership. He also interacted with the startups and entrepreneurs being mentored by them. They shared details about their projects with the minister and showed keen interest in the government's Design Linked Incentive Scheme.

The minister will be meeting global capability center heads to discuss the growth of the semiconductor and electronics sectors. PTI MBI MBI ABM ABM