The government will soon finalise a consultation paper on cryptocurrencies with inputs from various stakeholders and institutions, including the World Bank and the IMF, economic affairs secretary Ajay Seth said here on Monday.

He also underlined the need for a global response to deal with issues concerning crypto currencies as these operate in the virtual world.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on many occasions has expressed its doubts about such virtual currencies citing a threat to macroeconomic stability.

Seth said the consultation paper was fairly ready. “We have consulted not just the domestic institutional stakeholders but also organisations like the World Bank and the IMF. So, we hope that we will soon be in a position to finalise our consultation paper.”

India has also started work on some sort of global regulations. “Countries which have prohibited, they can’t succeed unless there is a global consensus around that. There has to be a broad framework of participation,” he said.

“Digital assets, whatever way we want to deal with those assets, there has to be a broad framework on which all economies have to be together. We need a global consensus on crypto regulation.”

In the budget for FY2023, the government said it would tax gains made through crypto currency investments at 30 per cent but the country has still not given the measure legal status.

Meanwhile, the finance ministry expects inflation to moderate in the coming months. “We do expect inflation should moderate in the coming months. Measures needed from the fiscal side have been taken. While monetary authority, too, has taken the measures,” Seth said.

Asked if the government will take additional fiscal measures, he said it is an emerging situation and measures will be taken as and when needed.

On whether the RBI will have the elbow room to avoid further monetary tightening to support growth in view of fiscal measures already taken, the finance secretary said he would not comment on the monetary authority’s role.

Earlier this month, the government had announced several measures, including a cut in excise duty on petrol and diesel prices by Rs 8 per litre and Rs 6 per litre, respectively. The RBI on May 4 had hiked repo rates by 40 basis points.

India is poised to become the fastest-growing among the large economies despite global challenges, Seth said.

“We can overcome the current challenges as well as the challenges that will come to us in the coming years . There are strong headwinds which have impacted the global economy.”

When asked if the geopolitical tension can impact growth, he said, “When headwinds are there obviously things slow down.”