Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged all democratic nations on Thursday to work together to ensure that technological innovations like cryptocurrencies shouldn’t be misused.

Addressing the Sydney Dialogue via video conference on Thursday, PM Modi gave the example of Bitcoins and said, “It is important that all democratic nations work together on this and ensure that it does not end up in the wrong hands, which can spoil our youths.”

PM Modi also spoke about the digital revolutions in India and said the country is currently witnessing five important transitions.

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He lauded India’s efforts in “transforming people’s lives by using digital technology for governance, including empowerment, connectivity, delivery of benefits and welfare”.

PM Modi said technology and data are becoming new weapons in the digital age and that “we [India] are developing strong capabilities and cloud computing — [which are] key to resilience and digital sovereignty”.

“Technology has become a major instrument of global competition and key to shaping future international order. Technology and data are becoming new weapons. The biggest strength of democracy is openness. At the same time, we shouldn’t allow vested interests to misuse this openness,” PM Modi said.

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“As a democracy and digital leader, India is ready to work with partners for our shared prosperity and security. India’s digital revolution is rooted in our democracy, our demography and the scale of our economy. It’s powered by enterprise and innovation of our youth,” PM Modi said at the Sydney Dialogue.

Cryptocurrencies in India

India has been at the centre of a debate over the ban on cryptocurrencies. Recently, the Members of Parliament (MPs), during a Parliamentary panel meet, said that cryptocurrency cannot be banned and the next step should be to find ways to regulate it.

While flagging off full-page crypto advertisements in national dailies, MPs said that the security of investors’ money is the most serious concern for all members.

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has repeatedly reiterated its strong views against cryptocurrencies, saying they pose serious threats to the macroeconomic and financial stability of the country. It also doubted the number of investors trading on them as well their claimed market value.