Blockchain growth in India to rise by 46% in the coming years, finance minister says

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Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has expressed optimism over the country’s future adoption 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 rise by about 46% in the next few years.”

India has endured a tumultuous relationship with digital assets as the country’s government opted to impose a series of taxes to stifle the increasing “cryptoization of the economy.” Nevertheless, the head of the country’s Finance Ministry concedes that public and private sectors will adopt distributed ledgers.

Meanwhile, former Finance Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg noted that the government’s distaste has clouded the effect of the technology for virtual currency. He added that apart from settling transactions, DLT offers a wide range of uses like storing information, voting, lending, and artist royalties, among others. The technology has found usage in the supply chain, manufacturing, and even the health sector, thanks to innovations in smart contracts, decentralized finance (DeFi), and non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

“My sense is that this is the future, and lots of businesses, assets, and even personal interactions would shift to this,” said Gard. “This is, perhaps, going to be the biggest and the best innovation which has been done for turning human society into a digital society.”

In India, a number of civil societies are advancing 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 that it aims to achieve the lofty ambition by working with regulators to ensure the “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 pulling its weight

Despite the series of seemingly “draconian” taxation meted out to investors, some jurisdictions in India are fostering the adoption of DLT through innovative means. A keen example is the government of Telangana, a state in Southern India that has 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 record information about landed properties. The move was hailed as one that will improve trust among parties and stifle the incidence of fraud in land transactions.

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