Credit: Giphy
Also in this letter:
■ Cleartrip suffers data breach
■ Customs duty disagreement could damage India’s smartphone industry
■ Google Play Store now hides app permissions, puts onus on developers
RBI wants crypto ban, govt needs global support for regulation: FM
While the Reserve Bank of India has made it clear that it wants a complete ban on crypto assets, the Indian government needs global collaboration if such a ban or regulation is to be put into effect, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Monday.
Lok Sabha query: Addressing questions on crypto in the Lok Sabha, she said, “Cryptocurrencies are by definition borderless and require international collaboration to prevent regulatory arbitrage. Therefore, any legislation for regulation or for banning can be effective only after significant international collaboration on evaluation of the risks and benefits and evolution of common taxonomy and standards.”
She said that this was in view of the RBI’s stand on crypto, adding the central bank has recommended a total ban on cryptocurrencies.
RBI vs crypto: The RBI has repeatedly pointed out various problems with cryptocurrencies and questioned their underlying fundamentals and use cases. RBI governor Shaktikanta Das called crypto a “real danger” in the central bank’s latest annual report.
Sitharaman said in the RBI’s view, cryptocurrencies are not currencies as every modern currency must be issued by a central bank.
“The value of fiat currencies is anchored by monetary policy and their status as legal tender. However, the value of cryptocurrencies rests solely on the speculations and expectations of high returns that are not well anchored,” she added.
Slow death? In her budget speech in February, Sithraman announced new taxes on cryptocurrencies – a flat 30% tax on profits, and a 1% tax deductible at source (TDS) on all crypto transactions.
When they came into effect, on April 1 and July 1, respectively, the new taxes caused trading volumes on Indian crypto exchanges to plummet.
Also Read: CoinDCX’s India entity profit rises 855% to Rs 4.36 crore in FY21
Cleartrip suffers data breach
Airline- and hotel-booking website Cleartrip said it suffered a major data breach in its internal systems on Monday.
In an email to customers, the company wrote, “This is to inform you that there has been a security anomaly that entailed illegal and unauthorised access to a part of Cleartrip’s internal systems.”
‘Sensitive data safe’: The company clarified that while some personal details were a part of the leak, no sensitive information was compromised.
Cleartrip said it had intimated the authorities and was taking appropriate legal action and recourse. It suggested customers reset their passwords.
Six-hour rule: In April, the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) issued new rules for companies operating in India. One of these was that firms must report any breach of their systems within a mere six hours of becoming aware of it.
The rules were originally set to take effect on June 28 but have been postponed to September 25, we reported last month.
Flipkart acquired a 100% stake in Cleartrip in 2021, in what was considered a distress sale of the $40-million company.
Also Read: US lawmakers urge FTC to monitor VPN firms’ deceptive practices
Disagreement on customs duty could damage India’s smartphone industry
A letter sent by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) to the department of revenue in March highlights apparent differences on the validity of customs duty on a key component in cellular phones – the touch panel or cover glass.
Why it matters: The seeming differences in views between the two departments, government officials and industry executives said, is relevant for duty evasion notices that the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has served Chinese smartphone majors Oppo and Vivo.
On July 13, the DRI issued a notice to Oppo, saying it had evaded Rs 4,389 crore of customs duty. A spokesperson for Vivo told us it had received a similar notice.
Now, the smartphone industry expects other companies to face similar notices. Executives warned that the issue could hurt the industry to the tune of Rs 20,000 crore.
The impact may not be confined to Chinese firms and the issue could potentially disrupt India’s aspirations of becoming an electronics manufacturing hub if not resolved immediately, they added.
Tweet of the day
Google Play Store now hides app permissions, puts onus on developers
Google will no longer show the app permissions it automatically used to display from apps on its Play Store, and will instead give developers full control over what they wish to disclose to users.
The tech giant has given a deadline of July 20 for developers to fill out a data privacy form for their apps and warned of appropriate action if they give false information.
Statement: “You alone are responsible for making complete and accurate declarations in your app’s store listing on Google Play,” Google said in the policy note.
The change is already visible under the Play Store’s new Data Safety section — a feature similar to that on Apple’s iOS14, according to The Verge. Google had first announced the new data privacy section last year.
Delhi starts building 14 new EV charging stations
With demand for EVs gradually picking up across the country, the Delhi government has started building electric vehicle (EV) charging stations at 14 cluster scheme bus depots, according to a Times of India report.
The project has been started by the Delhi government’s enterprise, Delhi Transport Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (DTIDC), and will see charging stations built at bus depots in places like Rajghat, Chattarpur, Dwarka Sector-22, Seemapuri, Dilshad Garden, Kair, Dhichau Kalan and Rani Khera, among others, said the report.
Customers will be charged under Rs 2 per unit compared to Rs 10-15 in other states.
Delhi currently has about 573 charging stations and plans to add 100 more by the end of September. Various states have also drafted EV guidelines, but the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) recently said they need to be on the same page.
Today’s ETtech Top 5 newsletter was curated by Zaheer Merchant in Mumbai and Ruchir Vyas in New Delhi. Graphics and illustrations by Rahul Awasthi.
