The first G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) meeting will discuss challenges including regulations of cryptocurrencies, global inflationary challenges, climate financing, and debt issues, Economic Affairs Secretary Ajay Seth said here on Tuesday. 

“Crypto assets, by nature, don’t recognise the boundaries of any country, and hence require a broad level of consent to form any level of regulation,” said Seth during the curtain raiser event held here. Government has repeatedly said that crypto assets are by definition borderless and require international collaboration to prevent regulatory arbitrage. Therefore, any legislation on the subject can be effective only with significant international collaboration on evaluation of the risks and benefits and evolution of common taxonomy and standards.  As on date, policy related to crypto assets and related ecosystem in India is with the Finance Ministry. 

The meeting will have Ministers, Central Bank Governors and Central Bank Deputy Governors beside others from G20 member countries to discuss policy perspectives on crypto assets and the role of national payment systems in cross-border payments.  

The meeting, which is under the G20 Indian Presidency, will be spread over three sessions on February 24-25, covering issues such as strengthening multilateral development banks to address shared global challenges, financing resilient, inclusive, and sustainable cities for tomorrow, and leveraging digital public infrastructure for advancing financial inclusion and productivity gains. The meeting will be jointly chaired by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das. 

The discussions in the G20 FMCBG meeting are intended to provide a clear mandate for the various workstreams of the G20 Finance Track in 2023. On the sidelines of these meetings, a number of side events have been planned for the visiting Ministers, Governors, Deputies and other delegates, on subjects such as Digital Public Infrastructure, Policy Perspectives on Crypto Assets and the role of National Payment Systems in Cross Border Payments. 

Addressing macroeconomic uncertainities

In order to address the various macroeconomic uncertainties, V Anantha Nageshwaran, the Chief Economic Advisor, who was also present during the event, said that nations must communicate with one another and have transparency in monetary policy because uncertainties do lead to spillovers.  

“While it is not possible to have clear answers to uncertainties, they can be mitigated with constant communication, which will be facilitated through these meetings,” he added. With regard to international taxation, Seth said it is part of the agenda for the meeting as well. “The inclusive framework, which is led by the OECD, has surely made progress and will also be on the list of topics for discussion.”