Finance Ministry Secretary TV Somanathan said that the government’s policy vis-à-vis blockchain has nothing to do with its policy towards crypto or virtual digital assets (VDAs). He further added that there should not be any apprehensions regarding the use of blockchain in areas apart from payments or currencies. “Government’s policy towards blockchain has nothing to do with policy towards crypto assets or virtual digital assets. There need not be any apprehension whatsoever regarding use of blockchain in an area which has nothing to do with payments or currencies,” Somanathan said at an event. While addressing a post-Budget interaction, Somanathan added that the Government of India has nothing against blockchain technology, which is an important technology. He noted that the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) digital currency – CBDC or central bank digital currency—will be based on a version of the blockchain technology. Also read: ‘Fantastic step’, says 0xdotTV founder Nikhil Chinapa on 30% crypto tax
The Finance Ministry Secretary also said that the Coffee Board of India has also launched blockchain-based system to identify specific varieties of coffee from specific fields so that the farmers can get higher price if proof of origin is available. “Government itself- Coffee Board of India- has launched blockchain system for identifying specific varieties of coffee from specific fields so that they fetch higher price on availability of proof of origin,” he noted. Also read: BT Brainstorm: 'India not alone in grappling with crypto', says ex-SBI boss
Meanwhile, former SBI chairman and veteran banker Rajnish Kumar said at Business Today’s BT Brainstorm that India is not the only country that is faced with the challenges that cryptocurrency brings along with it. “We are not the only country in the world that is grappling with this new animal called cryptocurrency,” Kumar had said. He further noted that with central bank digital currency, or CBDC, the RBI should eliminate intermediary nodes in monetary transactions. Kumar also said that doing this will usher in efficiency even in offline transactions.
Also read: Crypto-assets markets could trigger a global financial crisis: Report