Indian State Officials to Weigh Policies for Public Sector Blockchain Use

Officials in the Indian state of Karnataka are planning an event on blockchain and governance in the near future – a step that could ultimately lead to new regulations in the tech-oriented region.

Priyank Kharge, who spearheads Karnataka's information technology and bio-technology efforts, tweeted earlier this week that the state government "will soon host a seminar to understand blockchains for governance & bitcoins". This event, he said, could lead to new "policy", though he left little indications as to what that policy might entail. Regional news service The Economic Times first covered the statements.

That state officials would gather to discuss the tech, including bitcoin, is perhaps unsurprising, given that regulators in the country are currently engaged in a wide-ranging effort to create a new legal framework for cryptocurrencies.

Among the possible options is the imposition of a goods-and-services tax, though recent reports suggest that officials are still weighing which agencies would ultimately have jurisdiction over the tech, including India's central bank and its top securities market regulator.

Nor is Karnataka the only Indian state to move to potentially adopt or integrate the technology.

As CoinDesk has previously reported, the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana are both purusing efforts that could see them implementing blockchain as part of a digital reworking of their land registry systems. In the case of Telagana, officials are looking at how the tech could improve their revenue operations as well.

Karnataka Parliament image via Shutterstock