29.03.2024

Second-Largest Indian State to Use Blockchain in Various Spheres

According to a report by Indian English-language news daily DNA India on Aug. 19, the government aims to apply blockchain technology in supply chains, agricultural marketing, vehicle registration and document management.

The government of the Indian state of Maharashtra is preparing a regulatory sandbox for testing blockchain solutions across various applications.

The Maharashtra Information Technology Directorate will lead the development and the government has already earmarked 100 million rupees (~$1.4 million) for blockchain adoption from 2019–2020. 40 million ($560,000) has been approved outright by the implementation committee.

State IT department principal secretary S.V.R. Srinivas told DNA India:

«The state government is adopting a cutting edge technology to help enhance efficiency in the governance. Already the government has completed its first blockchain pilot in the fields of health, supply chain, documents and SSC certificates. A detailed report has been prepared to go in for extensive use of blockchain technology in various government departments. A regulatory sandbox, which will be a common framework for adopting blockchain technology, will be prepared in next five to six months.»

Containing the capital of Mumbai, the state of Maharashtra is the second-largest state in India and is home to over 114 million people. The state’s government previously signed a memorandum of understanding with the Bahrain Economic Development Board to develop a framework for the joint promotion of fintech.

Various Indian companies and government institutions have been applying blockchain technology to their businesses and administrative models. In June, news broke that the Reserve Bank of India is developing a blockchain platform for banking in its RD branch.

Last week, Indian telecoms provider Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited announced that it was developing one of the world’s largest blockchain networks. The firm’s chairman and managing director Shri Mukesh D. Ambani said, “Over the next 12 months, Jio will install across India one of the largest blockchain networks in the world, with tens of thousands of nodes operational on day one.” Jio has a current user base of over 330 million people.

SEC Settles With Nebulous For Unregistered Offering of Sianotes in 2014

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reached a settlement with Nebulous, the firm behind the Sia decentralized cloud storage network.

$225,000 in disgorgement and penalties

On Oct. 1 the SEC announced in a press release that it has settled the charges against the firm behind the Sia network in the form of a civil monetary penalty. Nebulous settled the charges without admitting or denying the findings.

According to the U.S. regulator, the Massachusetts-based blockchain business conducted an unregistered offering of Sianotes in 2014, for a total of $120,000, promising future revenue generated from transactions on the Sia network.

As part of the settlement, Nebulous agreed to pay approximately $225,000 in disgorgement and penalties.

Nebulous COO Zach Herbert reportedly said that:

“While disappointed that the SEC chose to pursue a steep penalty of almost double what we raised in our 2014 offering of Siafunds, especially compared to their lax handling of EOS, we view this settlement as highly positive for Sia. By choosing not to take action against Siacoins, we believe the SEC has validated Sia’s two-token model. We will continue to build and improve the Sia network at a rapid pace.”

SEC reaches $24 million settlement with Block.one

As Cointelegraph previously reported, that the SEC recently reached a settlement with EOS parent firm Block.one, to pay $24 million in penalties for conducting an unregistered initial coin offering (ICO).

Block.one raised the equivalent of billions of dollars but failed to register its ICO as a securities offering in agreement with U.S. federal securities laws, “nor did it qualify for or seek an exemption from the registration requirements”, the SEC stated.

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