Ikigai LawIkigai LawIkigai LawIkigai Law
  • About Us
    • About
    • Our Team
    • FinTales
    • Tech Ticker
  • Practice Areas
  • Blog
  • News & Events
    • Ikigai Law in the news
    • Ikigai Law at events
    • Ikigailaw on the social media
  • Careers

Ikigai Law’s Comments on the Draft National Strategy on Blockchain

    Home Blockchain Ikigai Law’s Comments on the Draft National Strategy on Blockchain
    NextPrevious

    Ikigai Law’s Comments on the Draft National Strategy on Blockchain

    By Ikigai Law | Blockchain | 0 comment | 22 February, 2021 | 3

    In January 2021, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology released a draft National Strategy on Blockchain. The draft strategy identifies the potential for adoption of blockchain in India and envisages creation of a ‘National Level Blockchain Framework’. This blogpost highlights a representation submitted by Ikigai Law as a response to the draft strategy.

    In January 2021, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (India) (“MEITY”) released a ‘Draft National Strategy on Blockchain’ (“Draft Strategy”).

    The Draft Strategy proposes to create a ‘National Level Blockchain Framework’ which will be a multi-layered blockchain infrastructure that will host sector specific blockchains (such as blockchain for health, insurance, and education). Users will be able to access the infrastructure through a ‘National Blockchain API’. The infrastructure will be linked with Aadhaar and e-Sign. It has identified legal and regulatory challenges to adoption of blockchain, including privacy related challenges; RBI’s unfavorable views on cryptocurrencies; and impediments due to data localization requirements.

    Ikigai Law submitted a representation to the government which can be accessed here. Our comments in brief are:

    1. The need to revisit data localization requirements: The Draft Strategy identifies data localization’ as a challenge to adoption of blockchain, as data on a blockchain may be stored on computers/nodes located across the globe. We recommended that: (i) the MEITY should revisit its position on data localization; and (ii) exempt localization requirements for decentralized storage which enhances security.  
    2. The possibility of blockchain being viewed as a privacy enhancing technology: According to the Draft Strategy, privacy is not an essential feature of blockchain. We have given examples of organizations that are using privacy enhancing features on top of blockchains. We have also suggested that the MEITY should consider the recommendations of the French Data Protection Authority to enhance privacy protection on blockchains.
    3. The importance of approaching the blockchain opportunity from a global perspective: We highlighted that blockchain presents a global opportunity for Indian startups and companies and therefore any standards the government sets should be aligned with international efforts.
    4. The need for harmonization across regulators: As most of the innovation in blockchain technology is happening in the permissionless blockchain space; we suggested that the MEITY should work with the RBI and other sectoral regulators to come up with an inclusive framework for blockchain in India. Such framework should pave the way for innovation across the different blockchain models .
    5. The need for greater clarity on the role of different stakeholders: The Draft Strategy highlights that roles of the industry and start-ups will be identified for the formation of the National Level Blockchain Framework. However, it does not mention how such stakeholders will contribute to the framework. We recommended that the stakeholders should be invited to explore how they could best contribute to building the framework.

    This representation has been authored by the team at Ikigai Law.

    For more on the topic, please feel free to reach out to us at contact@ikigailaw.com

    Image credits: “EOS Blockchain” by BeatingBetting is licensed with CC BY 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/


    Blockchain, cryptocurrency, Ikigai Law, MeITY, Privacy

    Ikigai Law

    More posts by Ikigai Law

    Related Post

    • Web3 Roundup 2022

      By Ikigai Law | 0 comment

      Law, policy and other developments in 2022 relating to the Web3 sector in India. International  International call for robust regulation and supervision of crypto assets: The Financial Stability Board (FSB) of which India is aRead more

    • How have different States in the United States of America enabled Blockchain Technology and Smart Contracts

      By Ikigai Law | 0 comment

      This post explores how different states in the United States have recognised blockchain and related technologies in their laws. Introduction We are well past the stage of countries pondering whether to integrate blockchain and relatedRead more

    • Central Bank Digital Currency: What is it, and does India need one?

      By Ikigai Law | 0 comment

      Central banks across the world have started exploring Central Bank Digital Currency (“CBDC”). In a recent survey by the Bank of International Settlements[1], 80% of the 66 banks surveyed were engaged in research and pilotRead more

    • Webinar on preventing illegal use of cryptocurrency: Blockchain forensics, due diligence & regulation

      By Ikigai Law | 0 comment

      Anirudh Rastogi, Managing Partner at Ikigai Law was in conversation with Mriganka Pattnaik, CEO at Merkle Science on a webinar on 11 May 2020. Merkle, a Singapore-based company, is a pioneer in blockchain forensics andRead more

    • Going Crypto in Nigeria: A Comparative Approach to the Regulation of Digital Currencies

      By Ikigai Law | 0 comment

      Cryptocurrencies, or digital currencies secured using encryption techniques, have seized the imagination of a motley crew of anti-capitalists, financial experts and computer scientists. At the same time, cryptocurrencies operate outside the purview of central banksRead more

    Leave a Comment

    Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    NextPrevious

    Tags

    #DataProtection #Fintales bitcoin Blockchain Budget Consent Consultation Consultation Paper cryptocurrency data Data Controllers data governance Data localisation Data Protection Data Subjects digital economy Digital India Drones E-Commerce Facebook Fintech Government Government of India healthtech Ikigai Law India Indian government Innovation MeITY Notice Payments Personal Data policy Privacy RBI Recommendation Regulation Srikrishna Committee Stakeholders Startups Surveillance Technology Tech Policy TechTicker TRAI

    Connect with Ikigai Law

    Copyright 2018 Ikigai Law | All Rights Reserved             

    Information

    • Practice Areas
    • Blog
    • Careers
    • Contact Us
    • Privacy Policy

    Contact us

    Office
    T-7/402, Commonwealth Games Village Apartment,
    New Delhi, Delhi 110092 India.

    Email Address

    contact@ikigailaw.com

    • About Us
      • About
      • Our Team
      • FinTales
      • Tech Ticker
    • Practice Areas
    • Blog
    • News & Events
      • Ikigai Law in the news
      • Ikigai Law at events
      • Ikigailaw on the social media
    • Careers
    Ikigai Law