Tag: indian government

Inclusion Into Startup Initiatives, Risk Mitigating Policies: BWA Lists Web3 Needs for Upcoming Government

India, the largest democracy in the world, is currently undergoing its general election process to choose its leaders for the next four years. Before the chosen leaders take the reins of India’s growth within their commands, the Bharat Web3 Association (BWA) has listed some immediate steps that the upcoming government could consider in order to grow the blockchain-based sector. Formed in 2021, the BWA is touted as India’s largest industry body representing the Web3 firms working around cryptocurrencies, metaverse, blockchain, and NFTs.

Among top suggestions listed by the BWA, it has urged India’s upcoming government to include the up-and-coming Web3 firms under the country’s startup initiatives. Tax benefits, capital gains tax exemptions, access to government funding, and monetary aid through the Startup India Seed Fund Scheme are among provisions that India offers to promising firms that are trying to establish their shops within the country.

The BWA believes that startup initiatives endorsed by Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), and the office of the Principal Scientific Advisor (PSA) could greatly benefit the Web3 sector, that is still trying to find solid grounds in India.

“The Web3 sector presents a trillion-dollar opportunity for India, that is home to over 1,000 Web3 startups, accounting for 12 percent of the world’s Web3 developers in 2023 from three percent in 2018. To build on this immense potential, the government should come out with focused skill development programs and sandboxes to enhance skills in blockchain/Web3,” the BWA has said.

All Web3 firms in India fall under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) — under which they are mandated to maintain a record of all entities and individuals that are using their platforms. Making new users complete their KYCs is an essential criterion for Web3 service providers for onboarding more accounts onto their respective platforms. Moving forward, the BWA has noted that it is imperative for firms to function under a risk-mitigating policy framework.

The BWA has advocated for Web3 firms to get access to E-KYC and C-KYC–related provisions in India. While Electronic KYC (E-KYC) is a digital version of the KYC process completely non-reliant on physical paperwork, the Central Know Your Customer (C-KYC) is a centralised database of customer information maintained by the Indian government.

“India’s immense Web3 talent is undeniable. The BWA has been working closely with the government to create a conducive environment for the sector, and we hope the next government looks at our request and includes our asks in their immediate action plan to foster the growth of the ecosystem and establish India as the global hub for Web3,” Dilip Chenoy, Chairperson, BWA said in his official statement.

Providing escrow accounts and banking services for owners of Web3 businesses, allowing offsetting of losses, as well as a reduction of the one percent TDS on the transfer of digital assets to 0.01 percent – are other suggestions that the BWA has jotted down for the next elected government to take into consideration.

Earlier in April, the BWA had laid down a bunch of self-regulatory guidelines to streamline the process of token listings for crypto exchanges operating in India. The aim of these rules is to ensure that scam tokens and potentially risky cryptocurrencies do not enter the Indian Web3 ecosystem posing financial risks to the investor and trader communities here.

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Government Issues Another Advisory Against Online Betting, Gambling Ads

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on Thursday advised media entities, media platforms and online advertisement intermediaries to refrain from carrying advertisements/ promotional content of betting platforms.

In an advisory issued today, the Ministry has taken strong exception to the recent instances of mainstream English and Hindi newspapers carrying advertisements and promotional content of betting websites. The advisory has been issued to all media formats, including newspapers, television channels, and online news publishers, and showed specific examples where such advertisements have recently appeared in the media.

The Ministry has also objected to the promotion by a specific betting platform encouraging the audience to watch a sports league on its website, which prima facie appears to be in violation of the Copyright Act, 1957.

While emphasizing on the legal obligation as well as the moral duty of the media, the advisory refers to provisions of the Norms of Journalistic Conduct of the Press Council which, interalia, mentions that “newspapers should not publish an advertisement containing anything which is unlawful or illegal…………”, and further that “the newspapers and periodicals should scrutinize the advertisement inputs from ethical as well as legal angles in view of the editor’s responsibility for all contents including advertisement, under Section 7 of PRB Act, 1867. Revenue generation alone cannot and should not be the sole aim of the Press, juxtaposed much larger public responsibility”.

The Ministry had earlier issued advisories in the months of June and October 2022 stating that betting and gambling are illegal, and hence direct or surrogate advertisements of such activities fall foul of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, the Press Council Act 1978, Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, and other relevant statutes.

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Vivo X Fold 2, iQoo Neo 8, Pixel Fold, More: Smartphones Expected to Launch in Next Three Months



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Amazon Partners With Indian Government to Promote State Content

Amazon.com is partnering with India’s federal government to stream movies and TV shows from state-run studios as well as provide internships to students from government film institutes in a key market for the US e-commerce giant.

India’s broadcasting ministry and Amazon signed an agreement on Wednesday, the company said in a statement, adding that the move “strengthens our commitment to globally promote and showcase India’s creative talent and stories through our multiple services.” Amazon’s India unit will also introduce a special feature to promote books and journals from the ministry’s publication arm.

India is a key growth market for Amazon and its Prime Video streaming service, but it’s also a country where the firm has faced antitrust challenges, legal battles for hurting religious sentiments in its TV shows and allegations of undercutting mom-and-pop stores. The tie up comes before national elections next year where Prime Minister Narendra Modi will probably seek a third term.

The partnership with a government ministry is a rare move for the Seattle, Washington-headquartered company. Last year, it committed to spend EUR 10 million (nearly Rs. 90 crore) over three years as it announced a collaboration with the UK’s National Film & Television School to give students career opportunities in company-commissioned productions.

Despite the high volume of movies produced each year, mainly through the Hindi-language industry based in Mumbai — Indian films haven’t yet managed to earn the kind of global crossover appeal South Korean content has, with award-winning titles such as Parasite or Netflix‘s Squid Game. Netflix last year signed a pact with India’s government to create training programs for post-production and animation, Deccan Herald newspaper reported.

“The partnership with Amazon India is unique on a number of counts,” Anurag Thakur, India’s Minister for Information & Broadcasting, said in the statement. The partnership would provide scholarships, internships and masterclasses for students “and help to reduce the period of struggle for the talented artists,” he added.

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Indian Banks Said to Soon Use Face Recognition, Iris Scan for Some Transactions

The Indian government is allowing banks to verify individual transactions that exceed a certain annual limit using facial recognition and an iris scan in some cases, in a bid to reduce fraud and tax evasion, three sources told Reuters.

A few large private and public banks have begun using the option, said one of the sources, a banker, who declined to name the banks. The advisory allowing the verification is not public and has not previously been reported.

The verification is not mandatory and is intended for cases where another government identification card used for tax purposes, the Permanent Account Number (PAN) card, is not shared with banks.

The prospect of banks using facial recognition has concerned some privacy experts.

“This raises substantial privacy concerns especially when India lacks a dedicated law on privacy, cybersecurity and facial recognition,” said Pavan Duggal, an advocate and cyber law expert.

The government has said it is targeting parliamentary approval of a new privacy law by early 2023.

The new measures can be used to verify identities of individuals making deposits and withdrawals exceeding Rs. 2 million in a financial year, where the Aadhaar identity card is shared as proof of identify, said two government officials, who asked not to be named because the information is not public.

The Aadhaar card has a unique number tied to an individual’s fingerprints, face and eye scan.

India’s finance ministry in December asked banks to take “necessary action” on a letter by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), which suggested verification should be done through facial recognition and iris scanning, especially where fingerprint authentication of an individual fails.

The letter from the UIDAI, which is responsible for Aadhaar card issuance, makes no mention of a consent framework for the verification. Nor does it say that banks can take any action if a customer refuses.

Responding to Reuters’ queries, a UIDAI spokesperson said Aadhaar verification and authentication happens only with the explicit consent of the user. Use of Aadhaar-based biometric authentication helps in guarding against possible misuse, he said.

“UIDAI regularly advises all authentication and verification entities to use face or iris authentications to cater to residents whose fingerprint authentication fails.” He added that authentication and verification does not mean storing of data.

The latest advisory follows a government order last year that mandated the quoting of an Aadhaar card or PAN number for making deposits or withdrawals exceeding 2 million rupees in a financial year.

The federal finance ministry did not respond to requests for comment.

© Thomson Reuters 2023

 

 

 

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