According to a recent announcement by the Indian Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), users will soon be able to utilise crypto tokens to sign documents digitally using a new native web browser.
Despite pushing for worldwide regulations for cryptocurrencies as the G20 president, India has not yet introduced any legislation for Web3 or cryptocurrency in the parliament, so the development assumes significance. Despite promoting its own central bank digital currency (CBDC), India’s central bank has opposed the legalisation of cryptocurrencies.
Despite taxing cryptocurrency and putting it into compliance with international anti-money laundering regulations, the Indian finance ministry has not yet made a formal stance on whether it would legalise or outlaw it.
The announcement made as part of the start of the Indian Web Browser Development Challenge (IWBDC), an open competition to develop an indigenous web browser with “its own trust store… cutting edge functionalities and enhanced security & data privacy protection features,” stated that “the browser envisions the ability to digitally sign documents using a crypto token, bolstering secure transactions and digital interactions.”
The government has specified that “support for Web3” is one of the features that are desired in the browser. The deadline to submit the product is July 1, 2024, and a total of about $400,000 in prizes will be awarded.