Blockchain growth in India will increase by 46% in the next few years, says the finance minister
India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has expressed optimism over the country’s future use of distributed ledger technology (DLT). Speaking at an event organized by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), Sitharaman said that “the use of blockchain technology will increase by around 46% in the next few years.”
India has undergone a stormy relationship with digital assets as the country’s government chose to impose a series of taxes to stifle the growing “encryption of the economy.” Nevertheless, the head of the country’s Ministry of Finance admits that the public and private sector will adopt distributed ledgers.
Meanwhile, former finance minister Subhash Chandra Garg noted that the government’s distaste has obscured the impact of virtual currency technology. He added that apart from settling transactions, DLT offers a wide range of uses such as information storage, voting, lending and artist royalties. The technology has found use in supply chain, manufacturing and even healthcare, thanks to innovations in smart contracts, decentralized finance (DeFi) and non-fungible tokens (NFT).
“My feeling is that this is the future, and many businesses, assets and even personal interactions will shift to this,” Gard said. “This is going to be perhaps the biggest and best innovation that has been made to turn human society into a digital society.”
In India, a number of civil societies are promoting the cause of blockchain in the country. The India Blockchain Alliance (IBA) was founded by a coalition of industry players with a vision “to see an India that leads the world in the adoption of blockchain technology.”
The IBA says it aims to achieve that lofty ambition by working with regulators to ensure “responsible adoption” of the technology. In August, the India Blockchain Forum was launched with similar objectives to the IBA and drew participants from the leading firms in the ecosystem.
The government is stretching
Despite the series of seemingly “draconian” taxation afforded to investors, some jurisdictions in India are promoting the adoption of DLT through innovative means. A good example is the government of Telangana, a state in southern India that recently created a Web3 regulatory sandbox designed to foster greater collaboration between players and policymakers.
Maharashtra, India’s second most populous state, has turned to DLT to register property information. The move was hailed as one that will improve trust between the parties and stifle the incidence of fraud in land transactions.
See: Blockchain VCs: Adoption is key
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