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Much to the dismay of Indian crypto enthusiasts, developers, and traders, the positive sentiment from the Indian government and Reserve Bank of India is sparse and sporadic towards cryptocurrencies and Web 3.0 utilities. Despite this passive hostility, India has about 100 million unique crypto users at the time of writing this article. With the rapid growth of Web 3.0 utilities and blockchain tech advancement, mainstream adoption is imperative.
Cental Bank-issued Digital Currency (CBDC)
By design, the fundamental feature of cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin is permissionless p2p transfer of money using a decentralized network viewable in the immutable public ledger. This however is perceived as a threat by the governments and banking sectors. The idea of a permissionless monetary network is not easily acceptable by the existing financial institutions. This is one of the core reasons why RBI wants to establish its digital currency (RBI Bulletin, August 2021), which is speculated to be a public-private hybrid blockchain.
Possibility of enhanced transparency, traceability and immutable record
For a public blockchain, the distributed consensus mechanism make it transparent as well as attack resistant. Either proof of work (PoW) or proof of stake (PoS) makes it computationally very expensive for the attack vector to be attempted. In the case of CBDC, it is to be seen whether it is issued as an independent blockchain or and Layer2 solution built on top of existing cryptocurrencies. In the case of the former, it might require years of rigorous development to establish the security of the blockchain network.
CBDC and the prospect of economic revolution in India
Today in India, several socio-economic issues undeniably requires the next level of solution that can be provided by blockchain technology. Some of the important ones are listed as follows:
Minimum wage discrepancy & inadequacy: Proposal: 1Work-Hour Labour digital currency: (xwh)
In India, the minimum wage for unskilled labour is fixed within the respective states. However, it is quite difficult to implement the basic minimum in practice and a large percentage of the daily wages end up in some middlemans' pocket. Also, the value of the wage is barely enough for the sustenance of the person and provides no medical or occupational accident insurance. The workable age limit of such persons is also extended to inhuman standards.
To alleviate such concerns, I propose 1work-hour XWH digital currency, that can be directly issued to the digital identity of a worker. 1work-hour digital currency will be the wage equivalent to one hour of work as defined by the minimum standard.
The minimum standard should include healthcare plans, food, clothing and shelter facilities. The amount of work hour necessary for sustainence per month or per year should be predefined and adequate compensation can be issued in cases of no work, pandemic, epidemic and other calamities.
A digital minimum wage currency will empower the labour force, make it more streamlined for decision making, and give them collective power to not only bargain but also invest in economy.
Uncharted possibilities of the Aadhar as a Blockchain Identity
The National identification in India is provided by the Unique Identification Authority of India, through Aadhar ID. However it is quite slow, maintained by a central database and a prone to data breaches (Firstpost News 2019). A strong alternative would be a blockchain based Aadhar ID with multisig and various level of data access authorization level.
Not only identity of the individual, but the control over the use of the identity will be greatly enhanced should the blockchain tech is incorporated in this program.
Distribution of medical/socio-economic benefits
As an added benefit to digital aadhar, various gatekeeping agencies can take audits at any point without any hassle. Infact continuous audit with anti-fraud measures can be implemented and physical check can be performed on the suspicious actors. There are several instances where the hospitals are involved in insurance scams and take away the entire benefits of the medical insurance meant for the economically weak sector.
Education through blockchain technology
Often internet availability is the main factor in remote and rural areas in India. Schools and education materials are also sparse. Targeted digital education materials and resources can be made available through distribution centric block chains such as
Onchain verifiable exams, results, and certificates will provide a fast and secure way to bridge the rural to urban gap. Proper categorization of the demographics and optimized solution can be delivered using blockchain.
to be continued
