The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) is considering implementing blockchain technology to increase the strength of digital transactions, Indian business magazine Business Today reports on April 14. The initiative of ten banks, under the aegis of the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA), aims to improve the NPCI by implementing distributed ledger technology, the publication underlines. The NPCI, an umbrella organization that operates retail payments and settlement systems in India and includes 56 national banks as stakeholders, was set up with the guidance and support of the Reserve Bank of India and the IBA. The NPCI will focus on developing blockchain …

The Supreme Court of India has granted interim bail to two brothers who are among the chief suspects accused of running a Bitcoin (BTC)-related Ponzi scheme. The development was reported by Indian tech startup news source Inc42 on April 3. Amit Bhardwaj and his brother, Vivek Bharadwaj, have succeeded in their appeal for interim bail, which they had reportedly requested in November 2018, with Amit asked to deposit ₹10 crores (~$1.5 million) for the bail, Inc42 writes. As previously reported, the Bhardwaj brothers had been arrested on April 4, 2018 for allegedly defrauding around 8,000 investors out of ₹2,000 crores …

Indian cryptocurrency exchange Coindelta is terminating its services in light of the adverse operating climate for crypto businesses in the country. The development was announced in an official blog post on March 30. Eighteen months after its first launch, Coindelta has told users that severe restrictions on banking services for crypto-related firms in India has caused its operating costs to escalate, and that therefore it is not economically viable to continue operations. The post notes: “It has been really difficult for us to operate Coindelta exchange for the last 6 months. The curb on the bank accounts by RBI has …

India’s Federal Bank, a commercial private bank, has partnered with Ripple to use its network for cross-border remittances. The bank announced the development in a letter on March 28. The partnership with Ripple comes as part of a wider initiative to apply new technologies to the bank’s remittances network. Also on March 28, Federal Bank launched two remittance platforms in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for making payments to India. One of the platforms will purportedly allow non-resident Indians in the UAE to send money through exchange houses and banks using the Virtual Payment Address of the recipient. Federal Bank, …

The fourth and largest of a series of blockchain supporter rallies is set for Bangalore on March 30, and is anticipated to have a huge public impact because of the planned participation of numerous developers — the key to India’s blockchain growth. Previous rallies this month in Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad saw thousands of crypto and blockchain enthusiasts and professional stakeholders take to the streets. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) ordered financial institutions to stop dealing with cryptocurrency businesses last year, with a ban coming into effect on July 5. The government and India’s Supreme Court have since wrestled …

The Coffee Board of India has launched a pilot blockchain-based e-marketplace in order to integrate coffee farmers with markets. The development was announced by Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MCI) on March 28. The Coffee Board — an organization backed by the MCI to promote coffee production in India — has rolled out an e-marketplace for coffee producers in order to reduce the number of intermediaries between coffee growers and buyers. The product will reportedly be delivered in the form of an application and aims to improve transparency and traceability of coffee produced in India “from bean to cup.” …

Bahrain has invited Indian companies to its fintech sandbox in a bid to facilitate the development of blockchain technology in the region, The Economic Times reported on March 3. Bahrain has reportedly proposed a range of opportunities to Indian companies as their key market in the fields of blockchain, digital assets, open banking, and remittances in an effort to boost fintech growth in the country. Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB) Senior Manager Dalal Buhejji reportedly said that some Indian companies applied for the Bahraini fintech sandbox last December, while EDB also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Maharashtra government …

The Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Calcutta and training platform TalentSpirit are jointly offering an advanced programme in fintech and blockchain technology, local news outlet The Asian reported on Feb. 26. The new program scheduled for this May is reportedly targeted at management and finance professionals aiming to educate participants on financial technologies growth and its potential impact on the banking and financial ecosystem. The program director, professor Indranil Bose, stated that “a vast majority of firms in the banking and financial sector believe that the lack of adequate fintech talent is an existential threat to their future.” Bose added …

The Supreme Court of India has reportedly granted four weeks to Indian authorities to come up with cryptocurrency regulation policies, local news outlet Inc42 reports on Feb. 25. If the Indian government does not provide a crypto regulatory framework in four weeks, the Supreme Court is set to release their own judgement, the article states. At the hearing on Feb. 25, the court has given one last opportunity to the Union of India to develop crypto regulation, stressing that afterwards, the Court will stop hearing crypto-related cases, including the parties who demand to reverse the crypto circular released by the …

Top Stories This Week Tesla CEO Elon Musk Compliments Bitcoin’s Structure, Sees Future With No Paper Money Elon Musk, tech entrepreneur and CEO of Tesla, said this week in an interview that Bitcoin’s (BTC) structure is “quite brilliant.” Speaking to advisory services firm ARK, Musk noted that digital currency is “a far better way to transfer value than pieces of paper.” However, Musk did point out some of the downsides of crypto, namely that it is energy-intensive computationally, but added that Tesla resources could help bring about the use of sustainable energy in crypto. Last year, Musk had noted that …

India’s largest e-commerce firm, mjunction services limited, has entered into a strategic partnership with blockchain shipping firm Shipnext, global maritime news agency Sea News reports Feb. 20. The new partnership intends to boost efficiency across mjunction’s supply chain, bringing value-added services to its clients, mjunction CEO Vinaya Varma said. Alexander Varvarenko, founder and CEO of Shipnext, said that mjunction’s large cargo base is expected to attract more traffic, shipowners and ship operators to Shipnext platforms. Mjunction services ltd is a joint venture of two Indian steel giants – the Steel Authority of India (SAIL) and Tata Steel. Mjunction is reportedly …

Cryptocurrency crime forms one focus of a dedicated cybercrime lab launched by Indian authorities this week, Indian daily news outlet The Hindu reported on Feb. 19. As part of efforts to step up the fight against internet-based adversaries, India’s Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated the cyber forensic lab and Cyber Protection Awareness and Detection Centre (CyPAD), which will be operated by police in Delhi. Within the lab, there will be a special unit focused on cryptocurrency, following years of problems involving scammers using the emerging phenomenon to commit crime. “We are now equipped with technology to recover data from …