Experts discuss the future of blockchain technology in India's startup revolution

Saturday, 22 July 2023
As a part of Startup 20 engagement forum of the G20 presidency, Savishkar India, in collaboration with National Stock Exchange (NSE), Anantam ecosystem and Digital Prosperity for Asia (DPA) organized a roundtable conference titled "Blockchain Revolution: Unlocking Startup Opportunities in India" on 20^th July 2023 at NSE, Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC), Mumbai. The round table conference, which was attended by 54 participants emphasized on how blockchain technology has the ability to revolutionize the startup ecosystem.

*Speakers at the roundtable on Blockchain Revolution held in Mumbai on Friday*The roundtable brought together key stakeholders from National Intellectual Property Awareness Mission (NIPAM), Atal Incubation Center (ATAL- AIC), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Entrepreneurship (IEEE entrepreneurship). The objective was to foster knowledge sharing, collaboration, and policy discussions that will pave the way for unlocking the full potential of blockchain technology.

Mr. Chintan Oza, Council Member, Alliance Taskforce, Startup 20 and Dr. Sujata Seshadrinathan, Director - IT, Basiz Fund Services, Mumbai presented their thoughts on blockchain. Their presentation specified statistics and research on technology, opportunities, regulatory frameworks, challenges, cross border trade and engagement with government.

During the discussions, *Dr. Seshadrinathan* spoke about the opportunities, challenges and enabling factors of blockchain in various sectors. She spoke on implementation and cost of blockchain innovation and went on to say that; "Blockchain is helping us to build a better world. It is here to stay and there is no other technology like it. While many have understood the features of blockchain but not the technology behind it. There will be a gap in (understanding) of every innovation adoption in first few years. However, as far as technology is concerned, blockchain is one of the most powerful innovations of recent times and also the most misunderstood" Dr. Seshadrinathan added.

Stating the importance of blockchain *Mr. Ashish Chauhan* said "One thing is very sure, young people will learn technology faster and will enlighten us. We need a 'patra' for knowledge, a person who has that credibility and authority of the subject, who can communicate and shape discussions on it with authorities" In his concluding statement Mr. Chauhan states, "We need to focus on blockchain technology, AI, 5G and all kinds of technology, their advantages and disadvantages. It is important that we have forums where all aspects of these technologies are discussed and then brought to light to the policy makers. Blockchain as a technology is here to stay and such discussions are very much necessary for the betterment of our country".*Mr. Ramnath Gopalakrishnan, Director & GM - APAC for DPA Member Quickwork*, which has been a key member in exploring collaborations and opportunities in the APAC region, said, "The Coalition for Digital Prosperity for Asia (DPA) supports the Startup20 India initiative as a vital step towards empowering Indian SMEs in the blockchain and digital sectors to achieve their full potential and power robust growth for Indias digital economy. Events like this roundtable allow digital and blockchain entrepreneurs to demonstrate their ingenuity and showcase the potential of this emergent and promising market. The DPA is proud to be a partner of this Startup 20 engagement under the G20 umbrella and work towards creating opportunities for capacity development for Indias digital startup ecosystem, promoting seamless cross border data flows, and high standards of digital trade."Besides Mr. Oza and Dr. Seshadrinathan, the event saw participation and discussions from several other renowned names including Mr. Ashish Kumar Chauhan, MD and CEO, National Stock Exchange, Mumbai; Mr. Nilesh Vohra, Enterprise Leader - Digital Transformation & Technology Infrastructure Enterprise Leader Arthur D. Little, among others.The discussion was moderated by Mr. Krantisagar More, PhD Scholar in pharmaceutics at the Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT), Mumbai, National Convenor, Savishkar India. Other subject matter experts including Ms. Ekta Singh, IP Lawyer, Web 3; Dr. Unnat P Pandit, Controller General of Patents, Designs & Trade Marks, and Mr. Uday Wankawala, CEO Atal Incubation Center- Rambhau Mhalgi Prabodhini were also part of the conference. Mr. Malcolm Gonsalves, and Mr. Kushaal Patel, two youth entrepreneurs, shared their perspectives on Blockchain system and application in India.Blockchain technology has been significant growth in India. Interestingly, both public and private sectors are exploring the potential of blockchain technology and ways to leverage it. There is immense scope for value addition in the several sectors including financial sector, supply chain management, healthcare, and education sectors to expedite processes, validate and securely store data. Government of India has already begun exploring the use of blockchain for government services through 'IndiaChain', a block initiative launched by NITI Aayog. There is growing number of blockchain businesses and innovation centers focuses on studying, creating, and implementing its use across domains.

*About the organizers-*

*Savishkar India*: Savishkar India is governed by Vidyarthi Kalyan Niyas (VKN) Bhopal, MP. It provides incubation platforms and internships to those who want to become entrepreneurs. Bringing out talent, the organization encourages your creative ideas, provides a healthy dialogue with industry for the technological and sustainable development of India

*Digital prosperity for Asia (DPA)*: The coalition for the Digital Prosperity for Asia is an organization consisting of a growing group of innovative Asian digital companies promoting the democratization of digital technologies across all sectors. It supports national governments and policymakers in APAC to grow their digital economies and reap the benefit of digital technologies. The coalition is looking for more like-minded APAC companies in the digital space that recognize the importance of growing the digital economy for local value creation and for shared prosperity across Asia.

*National Intellectual Property Awareness Mission* (*NIPAM):* A National Intellectual Property Awareness Mission (NIPAM) under the initiative of the Governments "Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav", has been launched by Shri Anurag Jain, Secretary, DPIIT. The pan-India ambitious mission aims to provide awareness on intellectual property and its rights to 1 million students. It aims to inculcate the spirit of creativity and innovation to students of higher education (classes 8 to 12) and ignite and inspire the students of college/Universities to innovate and protect their creations.Institute of Chemical Technology ( ICT): University Department of Chemical Technology (popularly called UDCT) of the University of Bombay, was established on October 1^, 1933, with the noble intention of advancing Indias knowledge reserves in chemical science and technology, the Institute has grown to become a premier (deemed) university devoted to education, training, research and industrial collaboration in chemical engineering, chemical technology, applied chemistry, pharmacy, biotechnology, and bioprocessing.*Atal Incubation Center* (*ATAL- AIC)*: Atal Incubation Centre is a flagship initiative to promote the culture of innovation and entrepreneurship in India. It is an umbrella structure that has been mandated to promote innovation and revolutionize the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the country. It develops new policies and programmes for fostering innovation in different sectors of the economy and provides platform and collaboration opportunities to various stakeholders in the entrepreneurial space.

*Startup20*: It is established under the G20 India Presidency 2023, is an engagement group representing global startup ecosystem stakeholders and raising macroeconomic concerns. It works on key topics, formulating recommendations, and presenting final recommendations to the G20 Presidency for discussion at the G20 Summit.

*Group of Twenty (G20):* The G20 or Group of 20 is an intergovernmental forum comprising 19 countries and the European Union. It works to address major issues related to the global economy, such as international financial stability, climate change mitigation and sustainable development, The G20 Summit is held annually, under the leadership of a rotating Presidency.

*Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Entrepreneurship (IEEE entrepreneurship)*: The IEEE Entrepreneurship community is at the forefront of turning ideas into successful businesses. Their priority is to help our members not just launch but grow their ventures and facilitate the networking and mentoring of those who have the passion to translate their vision into reality.Anantam ecosystem: A venture capital and private equity principals company working on ecosystem for Startup and MSME.*National Stock Exchange** (NSE)*: National Stock Exchange of India Limited (NSE) is one of the leading stock exchanges in India, based in Mumbai. It is the worlds largest derivatives exchange by number of contracts traded[a] and the third largest in cash equities by number of trades, It is one of the largest stock exchanges in the world by market capitalization. NSEs flagship index, the NIFTY 50, a 50-stock index is used extensively by investors in India and around the world as a barometer of the Indian capital market. NSE is the venue partner of this Round table conference.

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