TMT 2025

INDIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Shivalik Chandan, Hardik Choudhary, Dhruv Singh and Arjun Khurana, G&W Legal

CERT-In Guidelines These apply to blockchain, virtual assets, and exchanges, mandating compliance with cyber - security standards. Additionally, the RBI has launched a pilot for the digital rupee (e₹-R), representing legal tender in digital form, indicating the government’s interest in exploring official digital currencies. 2. Cloud and Edge Computing 2.1 Highly Regulated Industries and Data Protection Currently, no specific laws regulate cloud or edge computing in India, and no specific regu - latory licences are required for service providers. However, a broad range of laws is applicable. Privacy Under the DPDPA (once in force), the processing of personal data may only be justified by consent from the data subject or under a narrow set of legitimate purposes. The draft DPDP Rules 2025 mandate that pri - vacy notices to data principals must provide an itemised list of the personal data being pro - cessed and the purposes of processing. They also require the notice to be comprehensible and in plain language, with an option for withdrawal of consent. Additional obligations are imposed on “significant” data fiduciaries (the criteria and thresholds for being classified as significant data fiduciaries are yet to be provided) to undertake yearly data protection impact assessments and audits. CERT-In Notification On 28 April 2022, the Indian government noti - fied a requirement for all service providers, inter -

Regulation of Blockchain and Cryptocurrencies

While there is no specific legislation governing blockchain and cryptocurrencies, several laws

and guidelines apply. Income Tax Act, 1961

Under the law a “virtual digital asset” broadly means any information, code, number or token (not being Indian currency or foreign currency) generated through cryptographic means, and also includes NFTs and any other digital assets as notified by the government. The Act imposes a flat 30% tax on income from cryptocurrency transactions, with an additional 1% tax deducted at source on transactions exceeding INR50,000 (approximately USD570) annually. Companies Act, 2013 This is the primary company law in India and it makes reporting of crypto/virtual currency man - datory for companies. Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) Entities dealing with virtual digital assets must register with the Financial Intelligence Unit – India (FIU-IND) and comply with the Anti-Money Laundering & Countering the Financing of Ter - rorism Guidelines. In the past, the FIU-IND has imposed penalties on unregistered exchanges, such as Binance. Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA) This is applicable to cross-border transfers of digital assets and requires adherence to foreign exchange regulations.

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