Maharashtra is going to be blockchain ready by January, 2020, said Shri S.V.R. Srinivas, IAS, Principal Secretary, Information Technology, Government of Maharashtra. Speaking at Financial Innovation in Practice organised by Indian Chamber of Commerce in Mumbai, Shri Srinivas said that the work is in progress to make the treasury system of the state based on blockchain. He further added that the Government is creating regulatory sandboxes for fintech. Maharashtra is the only state to have a formal Fintech Policy and Maharashtra Government actively encourages Fintech StartUps.

Mr Arijit Basu, MD (CCG & IT), State Bank of India said that they are increasingly transacting digitally, both for retail and for corporates. They are also taking steps to ensure that financial products and applications are  safe and secure and user friendly. Information and transparency is key to drive security market commented Shri Avneesh Pandey, Chief General Manager,  Information Technology Department,  Securities and Exchange Board of India.  But the challenge, he felt was free flow of information to all the participants. He expressed that innovation in this space can address the issue.

Shri Pramod Kumar Panda, Senior Program Director, CAFRAL, conveyed that along with innovation in financial products and services, regulation is also innovating in the form of sandboxes. Regulation is promoting innovation by enabling an environment and ecosystem conducive for new technology.

The session was followed by two MoU signing ceremony, one between Indian Chamber of Commerce and Barclays Bank and another between Indian Chamber of Commerce and WeWork.Mr Atanu Sen, Chairman, BFSI Committee, signed the MoUs on behalf of Indian Chamber of Commerce whileMs. Lincy Therattil, VP & Fintech Platform Lead, Barclays, Rise Mumbai on behalf of Barclays Bank and Mr. Vineet Singh, Head of Brand & Marketing WeWork, for WeWork.

The ICC-Barclays Bank collaboration will: (i) help Barclays to further deepen their relationships with the Indian fintech ecosystem and add fintechs across India to their ecosystem, (ii) drive digital awareness and technology adoption through thought leadership events via the Rise Mumbai platform, and (iii) leverage ICC’s network and expertise to offer market/investor connect and expansion opportunities to Rise start-ups across India.  The MoU between ICC and WeWork would help to encourage entrepreneurship development among startups and SMEs and promote optimal use of working space.