Believe In Blockchain Technology, It Will Redefine The Financial World, Says Mukesh Ambani

Speaking at the Infinity Forum, Mukesh Ambani said, 'Blockchain is a technology I believe in and it’s different from crypto.'

Reliance Industries chairman and managing director Mukesh Ambani (File)

New Delhi: Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani said he believed in blockchain technology and it would "redefine the financial sector in a big way we have never imagined".

Speaking at the Infinity Forum, hosted by International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA), Mukesh Ambani said, "Blockchain is a technology I believe in and it’s different from crypto. It is a very important framework for just and trustbased transaction and trust-based society."

"I think that the convergence of real time, the convergence of the distributed ledger and blockchain technologies, smart tokens, the convergence of physical and digital through IoT will enable and redefine the decentralised financial sector in a way we have never imagined. I think it is happening in the coming 10 years, and again this will be a prerequisite to a great economic growth," Mukesh Ambani said.

Ambani said he backed the proposed data privacy and cryptocurrency bills, set to be introduced in the Winter session of Parliament.

The country, Ambani said, already had a great framework of digital identity through Aadhaar, digital bank accounts and digital payments. "India is putting in place the most forward-looking policies and regulations," Ambani said.

The Centre is set to bring a new bill to treat cryptocurrencies as a financial asset while safeguarding small investors. The legislation may stipulate a minimum amount for investments in digital currencies while banning their use as legal tender, PTI reported.

Ambani also asserted that India was witnessing a digital-first revolution and the country was on the verge of building a digital society. "We are on the verge of building a digital society. And I believe like China-led manufacturing, India will lead the digital society and become a global leader in its own right," he said.

Terming data as the "new oil", Ambani said, "The new oil is fundamentally different from the traditional one as traditional oil was extracted only at select places – thus, it created wealth only for some countries. In contrast, the new oil – that is Data – can be generated and consumed everywhere and by everybody. "It has the potential to create value equitably, across sectors, across geographies, across economic classes."

Mukesh Ambani said India was transitioning fully from 2G to 4G. "We are in the process of creating an equally affordable ecosystem of devices to enable greater adoption, supported by a faster rollout of optical fiber, cloud, and data center infrastructure," he said.

"The next step will be the connectivity of machines, devices and vehicles, which is the Internet of Things. With 5G rollout next year in India, we are on our way to having one of the most advanced digital infrastructures anywhere in the world," the Reliance Industries chairman said.