GS Paper 3
Syllabus: Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, nano-technology, bio-technology and issues relating to intellectual property rights.
Source: The Hindu
Context: The Investor Education and Protection Fund (IEPF) will launch an outreach programme soon to create awareness of cryptocurrencies and online gaming.
About Investor Education and Protection Fund (IEPF)
- It is managed by the IEPF Authority, which was set up in 2016 under the provisions of Section 125 of the Companies Act, of 2013.
- It comes under the aegis of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.
- The Authority is entrusted with the responsibility of administration of the IEPF, which, besides promoting awareness among investors, makes refunds of shares, unclaimed dividends, matured deposits and debentures and so on to rightful claimants.
About Cryptocurrency: A digital currency is one in which transactions are verified and records maintained by a decentralized system using cryptography, rather than by a centralized authority.
Online gaming
- The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has been appointed the nodal industry for online gaming in India; for e-sports, the nodal agency is the Department of Sports, under the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.
- A glance at the rulings of the Supreme Court and several High Courts clearly establishes ‘Games of Skill’ as legitimate business activities protected under Article 19(1)(g) of the Indian Constitution. These rulings have also emphasized a clear distinction between ‘Games of Skill’ and ‘Games of Chance’.
Issues with Online Gaming:
- There is confusion about the definitions of a ‘game of chance’ like fantasy games, and a ‘game of skill’, a term, which has been used in the Public Gaming Act (1867) but has not been spelt out.
- There are risks from cybercrimes as well.
- Despite court rulings, online skill games have faced restrictions in a few States due to addiction, financial losses and the thin line between skill and chance.
How Cryptocurrency creates regulatory hurdles:
- Cybersecurity threats
- Misuse of cryptocurrency is hard to detect
- Controlling monetary policy like inflation, growth would become an issue
- The anonymity of transactions may lead to tax evasion
- Geopolitical issues: Countries may manipulate their cryptocurrency e.g. Experts say China’s eCNY will threaten dollar dominance and can be a tool for a currency war
- The high volatility of cryptocurrency and the highly fragmented market
Measures taken to tackle this at the national level.
- India recently decided to tax cryptocurrencies, a 30% on the transfer of such assets as well as a 1%TDS on every transaction.
- RBI exploring DLT (Distributed Ledger Technology) based Central Bank Digital Currency.
- In July 2022, The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) recommended a ban on cryptocurrencies citing ‘destabilizing effects on the country’s monetary and fiscal health’.
Insta Links:
Prelims Link: UPSC 2020
With reference to “Blockchain Technology”, consider the following statements:
- It is a public ledger that everyone can inspect, but which no single user controls.
- The structure and design of the blockchain are such that all the data in it are about cryptocurrency only.
- Applications that depend on the basic features of blockchain can be developed without anybody’s permission.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 1 and 2 only
(c) 2 only
(d) 1 and 3 only
Answer: d
Mains Link:
Q. “Internet gaming has turned worse than drugs”. Do you agree? Critically examine the statement in light of the announcement made by the World Health Organization (WHO) to include “gaming disorder” as a mental health condition. (250 words)
