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Mastercard is looking to incorporate blockchain technology into its operations and would like a clear regulatory framework in India that lays down what blockchain can be used for.

What is a Blockchain Technology

• Blockchain is the technology behind crypto-currency such as Bitcoin, which is a purely electronic currency that can also be traded on exchanges.
• It is a continuously growing list of records, called blocks, which are linked and secured using cryptography.
• Each block contains typically a hash pointer as a link to a previous block,a timestamp and transaction data.
• By design, blockchains are inherently resistant to modification of the data.
• Functionally, a blockchain can serve as an open, distributed ledger that can record transactions between two parties efficiently and in a verifiable and permanent way.
• For use as a distributed ledger a blockchain is typically managed by a peer-to-peer network collectively adhering to a protocol for validating new blocks.
• Once recorded, the data in any given block cannot be altered retroactively without the alteration of all subsequent blocks and a collusion of the network majority.

About Regulation

• In India, an inter-ministerial committee is currently looking at how best to regulate blockchain technology, if it is allowed at all.
• One of the proposals is to bring it under market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).
• Another option that could be considered is bringing blockchain regulation under the proposed Payments Regulatory Board in the Reserve Bank of India.

Source : The Hindu

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