Future Tech

Lakshmi: government moves to introduce cryptocurrency

A new cryptocurrency seems to pop up on a fairly regular basis, starting with Bitcoin it wasn’t long before we had Dogecoin and, the latest of the bunch, Ethereum, looks set for big things – to name just a few.

India’s government, meanwhile, has taken a more arms-length approach to cryptocurrencies until now having nurtured a distrust of Bitcoin. However, growing popularity and a reported 50,000 Bitcoin wallets in India might be what he spurred the Indian government to think again.

The Indian government is now looking to implement its own form of cryptocurrency according to Business Standard. A committee of government officials have come to the conclusion that blockchain technology would be useful for official financial services. The government retains its scepticism towards Bitcoin but suggested instead it might set up its own cryptocurrency.

The new cryptocurrency might be called ‘Lakshmi’ after the Goddess of Wealth, as per Hindu traditions, who is prayed by billions during the holy festival of Diwali.

Vaibhav Parikh, partner at Nishith Desai Associates, told Business Standard, “I won’t be surprised if the government comes up with its own cryptocurrency because banks are trying blockchain as a technology and to make blockchain work it would need some cryptocurrency. Since it doesn’t trust Bitcoin it may come up with their own currency.”

According to Economic Times The State Bank of India is in partnership with some of tech’s biggest names, including IBM, Microsoft, Skylark and KPMG plus ten commercial banks. The Blockchain system would be used to tackle fraud and bad loans, both of which are particularly acute problems in India, with bad loans accounting for 20% of Indian bank’s loan book.

The People’s Bank of China, Bank of Japan, European Central Bank and the Dutch Central Bank are all currently in the midst of dedicated trial or research programs to implement blockchain technology.

Ben Allen

Ben Allen is a traveler, a writer and a Brit. He worked in the London start-up world for a while but really prefers commenting on it than working in it. He has huge faith in the tech industry and enjoys talking and writing about the social issues inherent in it's development.

Recent Posts

DDos damage: Geopolitical events triggered unprecedented DDoS attacks, AI

Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks are no longer just a nuisance of the digital underground, they’ve…

7 hours ago

Inception-style hack: How VR could be the next frontier for cyber attacks

Virtual Reality (VR) promises immersion, but what if that immersion turns against you? A new…

7 hours ago

Outbound & inbound: Indian tie ups with Singapore, Indonesia, & Australia while Philippines meets Indian business group

The Tech Panda takes a look at how Indian companies are partnering with foreign businesses…

2 days ago

Investment temperament: NFO for 5 index funds, health funds for Early to Late-Stage Capital & to transform India’s healthcare landscape

The Tech Panda takes a look at the investment temperament in the Indian startup ecosystem.…

3 days ago

Tweets, tips & trading: X doubles down on payments power play

Big Tech is no longer content with just running user feeds, they want wallets too.…

3 days ago

PayPal World: Swipe right on global shopping

Indian shoppers could be shopping internationally using their UPI accounts sitting at home, thanks to…

6 days ago