India vs United Arab Emirates: crypto regulation compared

Side-by-side across all nine dimensions, each value linked to its primary government source.

Dimension	India	United Arab Emirates
CBDC status	Pilot cbdctracker.org ↗	Pilot cbdctracker.org ↗
Legal status	Legal, with restrictions Reserve Bank of India ↗	Legal, with restrictions Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), Dubai ↗
VASP licensing	Registration only FIU-IND (Ministry of Finance), PMLA ↗	Regime in force Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) ↗
Stablecoin rules	None Reserve Bank of India ↗	In force Central Bank of the UAE — Payment Token Services Regulation ↗
Tax treatment	Income Income Tax Department (Section 115BBH) ↗	Exempt Federal Tax Authority (FTA) — VAT Executive Regulation ↗
DeFi treatment	Addressed Reserve Bank of India (RBI) ↗	Addressed Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), Dubai ↗
NFT classification	Addressed Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), Ministry of Finance ↗	Addressed Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), Government of Dubai ↗
Mining policy	—	Addressed Abu Dhabi Global Market Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) ↗
Enforcement intensity	Low Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) ↗	Moderate Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) ↗