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There is a lot of uncertainty around regulations governing India’s cryptocurrency industry. Despite the Supreme Court lifting the cryptocurrency trading ban, many Indian banks continued to cite an RBI circular banning banks from dealing in crypto, prompting RBI to issue a clarification.

IndiaTech.org, an industry body representing India’s consumer internet startups, unicorns, and investors, recently published a whitepaper proposing a five-point policy framework to regulate the cryptocurrency industry in India. 

In a conversation with YourStory, Rameesh Kailasam, CEO of IndiaTech.org, says that the recommendations would help mitigate the risks associated with the cryptocurrency space, and foster growth and innovation.

He believes that with the right approach, India can capitalise on the crypto industry’s potential and become a home to blockchain innovation that could impact the Indian economy. 

The first step, Rameesh says, would be to embrace cryptocurrencies and define them as digital assets, not as currency

“The fundamental point of concern is treating cryptocurrency as a form of currency,” he adds.

Read all about how the Indian startup ecosystem is battling the second wave of COVID-19 here.

Here are some useful tools to help you find the nearest vaccine centres in real-time.

You can also share a tribute to COVID-19 warriors, saviours, and survivors here.

The Interview

Though India is emerging out of the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, we can’t afford to let our guards down with the virus continuously mutating. 

Dr Shuchin Bajaj, Founder and Director, Ujala Cygnus Healthcare and Mudit Dandwate, Co-founder, Dozee talks about how we can keep ourselves safe from catching COVID-19 at home, and how we can brace ourselves for the expected third wave of the pandemic.

Editor’s Pick: 100X Entrepreneur Podcast

After working with big companies such as Cognizant, PwC, and ANZ Bank for over 10 years, Amit Kumar Agarwal took a risk and decided to follow his entrepreneurial dreams.

Along with Akhil Gupta and Saurabh Garg, he founded NoBroker, a real estate search portal that cuts out the broker and connects flat owners and tenants directly with each other. Now, NoBroker handles $2 billion worth of transactions on its platform every year and claims to have helped save brokerage worth Rs 1,100 crore last year. Read more.

Startup Spotlight

A free contactless solution to digitise hotels and restaurants

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, restaurants and hotels accelerated the adoption of digital solutions to reduce the spread of infection and enable themselves to open up again.

Seeing the opportunity, two students — Soumya Ranjan Dash and Brijendar Singh — developed a contactless ordering system for restaurants and hotels. They have started this initiative free of cost for restaurants to keep the virus at bay. So far, 20 restaurants in Rourkela are now availing their service. Read more.

News & Updates

Before you go, stay inspired with… 

“We shouldn’t miss the bus with crypto and blockchain. The industry is fast-growing and it should be embraced with checks and balances in place.”

— Rameesh Kailasam, CEO of IndiaTech.org

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