The R&D branch of The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is executing a pilot program in developing a blockchain platform for banking.

The platform is expected to launch in 2020 and will be able to host various blockchain applications. According to the director of The Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology, RBI’s R&D branch, the platform is “for blockchain applications for the government in banking.”

Although RBI has been famous for its hardness towards digital currencies, it is opening for opportunities in blockchain industry. Earlier, RBI has unveiled its first official regulatory sandbox for the fintech industry since it set up an inter-regulatory working group in July 2016 to look into fintech. Through the sandbox, it says it will provide requisite regulatory guidance in order to help increase efficiency, manage risks, and create new opportunities for consumers. 

Notably, blockchain related products of a more directly speculative nature – mainly cryptocurrency, trading in digital assets, and initial coin offerings (ICOs) – are also not eligible to be part of the sandbox.

 Recently, The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has reportedly predicted that central banks worldwide will issue digital currencies to emerge national economies in the future, reported by The Crypto Sight on June 30.