Internet and Mobile Association forms blockchain panel to aid skill development

The Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) on Monday announced the formation of a blockchain committee that will, among others, curate and create content to aid skill development. 

The committee will also focus on creating a dialogue between all stakeholders, identify opportunities and challenges and work closely with the government, startups and other industry players to contribute to the blockchain ecosystem. The panel will move towards building a participative economy with the digital ledger technology, IAMAI said in a statement.

IAMAI said that the committee will be chaired by Tina Singh, chief digital officer of Mahindra Finance, and co-chaired by Prasanna Lohar, head of innovation and architecture, DCB Bank Ltd. 

Singh said, “In order to be more effective and enter the mainstream, the blockchain technology needs to be promoted by government bodies, regulatory authorities, and corporates.”

On the country’s readiness for blockchain adoption, Lohar said, “After demonetisation, Unified Payments Interface, Goods and Services Tax and others, blockchain would be the radical change agent in India. Adoption will be achieved through building trust in the economic, social and environmental potential of the token and blockchain economy. To reap blockchain benefits, however, the technology will need to be developed responsibly within the right regulatory frameworks.”

Few of the other prominent members of the committee include Samiran Ghosh, chief digital adviser, Microsoft; Nitin Chug, country head, digital banking, HDFC Bank; and Manish Gupta, director, digital transformation, Mastercard. Others are Sandeep Goenka, founder, Zebpay; S Venkat Kumar, vice-president, Kotak Mahindra Bank; and Ravi Chamria, founder, SofocleTechnologies.