India gets blueprint for blockchain development, regulation

India is getting on how to approach to blockchain technology. The Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology (IDRBT) has issued a blueprint of blockchain technology for the banking sector.

Financial Express, an Indian daily newspaper, reported on January 22 the IDRBT issue its blueprint after consulting with the government, banks and industry. The aim is to find a common platform from which applications can be based off of.

India currently has no regulation for the blockchain industry, and has had a back and forth relationship with the new technology. As a result, Former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Deputy Governor R Gandhi is worried that it has left the financial sectors vulnerable to risk due to “increased use of mobile technologies by customers, including the rapid growth of the Internet of Things (IoT) and the heightened cross-border information security threats.”

The hope is that this blueprint will lead to a regulatory structure for India to implement. The IDRBT anticipates, “Regulatory supervision can also be built in within the governance structure. These steps are expected to help drive increased adoption of new technology among industry participants and continuous valuation and change management will help in bringing in required stability and sustainability of the new framework.”

Despite a government ban on cryptocurrency, there has been plenty of discussion around regulating the industry and building a path forward. In December, a government panel came together to discuss a draft of a crypto regulation bill. Despite the ban on cryptos, development has kept pushing forward, and crypto ATMs have popped up in Bengaluru.

The IDRBT blueprint, with the collaboration of the most influential pieces necessary to the blockchain industry, might finally be the spark necessary to get India on the right path. However, keeping in mind that we thought the same after government panel’s made recommendations, the big question is if India is finally ready to make up its mind on the blockchain industry.