The government has no intention to limit the usage of blockchain technologies for other than those related to payments and the emergence of crypto assets, a Finance Ministry official stated, allaying industry players’ fears stemming from the Center’s ambiguous stance on the legitimacy of crypto assets.
Finance Secretary T.V. Somanathan stated at post-budget interaction “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.”
He was clearing the concerns that were raised about the government’s regulatory approach to crypto assets over the deployment of blockchain technologies. The government itself, 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, Mr. Somanathan stated.
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. The concern 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.
