The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has invited public response on the National Strategy on Blockchain (“Strategy”). India’s digital economy has been on the rise, and the application of blockchain in India’s governance shall serve as a catalyst for the economy. Our submission to MeitY has been prepared keeping in mind potential applications of blockchain and the legal challenges surrounding such applications. The Strategy has outlined certain legal challenges in adopting blockchain; however, we at BlockSuits believe that the technology has overcome such challenges by way of alternative mechanisms, some of which we have highlighted in our submission.
We have further highlighted the opportunities that MeitY has not considered in the Strategy and how such missed opportunities shall be resolved by setting up a Blockchain Working Group. We further describe the regulatory regime of other jurisdictions such as Singapore and Italy which have introduced legislation to provide regulatory clarity on the technological aspects of blockchain, such as smart contracts. We urge the Government of India to consider the same.
India’s efforts towards blockchain have increased in the past year, as is observed through the introduction of blockchain policies on a state level and the creation of regulatory sandbox by certain states in India. However, in today’s informational age, we believe that a more comprehensive effort towards formulating regulation is required in order to decentralize the functions of India’s economy. India’s current climate towards cryptocurrencies has also led to dampening the blockchain ecosystem, and while the Lok Sabha bulletin describes the Government’s intention to “promote the underlying technology of cryptocurrency and its uses”, there is a need for greater regulatory understanding of blockchain within different arms of the Government. In an effort to seek clarity and to further the structure of India’s blockchain ecosystem, we are enclosing our recommendations herewith.
The response to the public consultation is attached here.
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