more-in Principal Secretary (Information Technology) S.V.R. Srinivas on Thursday said that a Financial Technology (FinTech) officer would soon be appointed to make the State, particularly Mumbai, the FinTech hub of the country with the use of blockchain technology. Mr. Srinivas was speaking at a panel discussion organised by V Citizens Action Network and Chamber of Commerce and Industry about using blockchain technology to make the digital marketplace safer. The blockchain network is an evolved version of the internet, which operates in the absence of a central server, ensuring that data once added in the system can be viewed by all those connected to the block, and cannot be tampered with. Any attempts at tampering are also recorded in the system, thereby ensuring transparency. Mr. Srinivas said, “We have already missed the bus when it comes to Information Technology, and the State government is keen on making Mumbai, which is the financial capital of the country, the FinTech hub. We have already signed MoUs with several banks so that start-ups that use blockchain technology can be helped. We will soon be appointing a FinTech officer.” He said that the government was working on adopting the blockchain model for governance in fields such as land records, vehicle registration and healthcare. The panel discussion witnessed participation by experts from several fields, including Special Inspector General of Police (Maharashtra Cyber) Brijesh Singh, cyber crime lawyer Prashant Mali and Vikash Mittersain, founder of the India Business Group. Citing fields where blockchain technology could be useful, Mr. Mittersain said, “Healthcare can be a major beneficiary of the blockchain technology, with the patient at the centre. The medical history and records of all patients can be accessed from anywhere in the world using the blockchain model. The technology also has the potential to prevent voter fraud during elections, and will also be beneficial in the fields of accounting and book-keeping.” Advocate Mali spoke about some of the legal challenges when it comes to blockchain technology and bitcoins, the cryptocurrency which is generated through blockchain technology. Bitcoins, while not exactly illegal, are not considered legal tender in India as they are not stamped by the Reserve Bank of India. Cryptocurrency and crime Advocate Mali said, “In case a bitcoin theft is reported, the police have to have a wallet which can confiscate cryptocurrency. Even if the police force does get such a wallet, there will be legal hurdles in terms of returning the currency to the complainant when the case goes to court. These are the legal challenges that need to be anticipated and dealt with. The blockchain network is a safe and secure one, but it uses wallets that are hackable.” Mr. Singh added that while bitcoins are just one aspect of the blockchain technology, they have already given rise to several crimes. He said, “There was a case in Punjab where a person was kidnapped and ransom was demanded in Bitcoins. On the dark net, anything from drug trafficking to assassination contracts is conducted using cryptocurrency. There have been cases where the router providing Wi-Fi to customers of a leading coffee shop chain injected browsers with malware and used the devices of customers like computers or cell phones for mining bitcoins. Cell phones, with octacore processors, can be very effective tools in bitcoin mining.” Mr. Singh said that basic cyber hygiene like not opening suspicious attachments or links and updating operating systems regularly go a long way in tackling crimes associated with blockchain technology.

Stay updated with all the Mumbai Latest News headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.