IndiGlobal Media Bureau
In the financial services industry the blockchain technology is considered as a distributed ledger technology. And some see blockchain as a more reliable database than their existing databases. Some believe that blockchain technology will supplant the banking industry’s old technology.
In a response to concerns articulated about the government’s regulatory approach to crypto assets spilling over to the deployment of blockchain technologies in general, Finance Secretary T.V. Somanathan said at a post-Budget interaction in Mumbai.
“The government has no intent to bar the use of blockchain technologies for functions other than those related to payments and the creation of crypto assets.
I want to make it clear that the government policy towards blockchain has nothing to do with its policy on crypto assets. There needs to be no apprehension whatsoever about anyone using blockchain in an area that has nothing to do with payments or currency. The government itself, the Coffee Board under the Commerce Ministry has an initiative – using a blockchain system for identifying specific varieties of coffee from specific fields so that they derive a higher price when sold in export markets as it has a proof of origin. So the government has nothing against blockchain tech and there’s no connection between the two.”
Acknowledging that blockchain is an important technology, the Finance Secretary pointed out that the Budget referred to the central bank digital currency which will be based on a version of blockchain technology.
“It is about a particular use case in the area of so-called crypto or virtual digital assets. The government is in no way discouraging blockchain technology,” he concluded.
Blockchain, mostly known as the backbone technology behind Bitcoin, is one of the emerging technologies currently in the market attracting a lot of attention from enterprises, start-ups and media. Blockchain has the potential to transform multiple industries and make processes more democratic, secure, transparent, and efficient. Though many financial and non-financial players are excited about the potential of this technology.