Day of the cryptocurrency
The announcement of the impending launch of Libra coin, a global cryptocurrency by social media giant Facebook, has stirred the hornets’ nest. Regulators and policy makers worldwide have reacted with varying degrees of alarm and panic. Cryptocurrency enthusiasts have, however, welcomed the Libra coin claiming that its release would lead to mainstream adoption of cryptocurrencies.
The Sunday Guardian met Dr Rachna Singh, a senior Indian Revenue Service officer, who is an authority on Bitcoin and cryptocurrency, to understand the scenario. Her book, The Bitcoin Saga: A Mixed Montage, has just been released. We asked her what was sustaining the bitcoin buzz globally. Singh believes that the 2017 rally, which crested in December with the bitcoin price hitting $20,000 was driven by speculative retail traders. The 2019 bitcoin bull run is powered and sustained by a spike in institutional interest. “The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission regulated bitcoin futures have shown a surge of 270% in April-June quarter. Crypto-friendly landscape and advent of Libra coin news has sparked more interest,” she said.
“Policymakers are concerned that cryptocurrencies can be used as a tool for money laundering and other unlawful activities,” Singh said adding that “regulatory clarity is needed to ensure that cryptocurrencies become an instrument of salutary socio-economic change rather than an instrument of financial disruption.” Some countries have started to mint their own cryptocurrencies. Canada launched the Canada Stablecoin recently. Countries like Senegal, Tunisia launched their own digital currencies some years back. Singh says blockchain is a game changer and has the power to make the world a better place, under the right stewardship. For instance, Uber is working on a blockchain-based system to transport medical patients. Building blocks, a programme run under the aegis of UN World Food programme, uses a blockchain system to distribute cash-for-aid to Syrian refugees in Jordon. In India, a consortium of 11 banks has launched a blockchain-linked loan system. Andhra Pradesh is working on blockchain-based solutions for collating land records and streamlining vehicle registration.
Congress on sale?
The Karnataka drama is likely to continue for some more time. Knowledgeable sources told The Sunday Guardian that the Karnataka Assembly Speaker is likely to suspend or disqualify the rebel MLAs, which will force them to go to court. And while BJP is denying that it has played a role in destabiling the government in Karnataka, no one believes it. The question being asked is: is Congress on sale? Congress leaders and workers are blaming Rahul Gandhi for the fiasco, while BJP leaders are joking in private that “Soon, Congress MLAs and Parliamentarians will be available on e-commerce sites. They will be delivered at the doorstep of whosoever wants them.”
Shashi Tharoor talks cricket on Budget
Congress’ MP from Kerala, Shashi Tharoor tried to clean bowl the Narendra Modi government on the budget in Parliament. Tharoor said, “Instead of bold boundaries we expected in this first budget after the elections, what we have are unnecessarily defensive strokes, dropped catches and quite a few no balls and wides.” Only the opposition members enjoyed his commentary on the Budget, which, he said, had “left us with a sort of ‘trishanku’ budget, neither here nor there.”
Nagpur University To Teach RSS’ Role in Nation Building
The Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University has included a chapter on the RSS’ history in the second year BA (History) course to teach about the Sangh’s role in nation-building. The RSS, which was founded by K.B. Hedgewar in 1925, has its headquarters in Nagpur. According to Satish Chafle, a member of the Board of Studies of the university, a chapter on the Sangh’s role in nation-building has been introduced in the History of India (1885-1947) unit, which is part of the fourth semester for the second year of BA (History) course. The university syllabus had a chapter on introduction to RSS for the MA (History) course in 2003-2004. “The move is part of efforts to make students aware about ‘new trends’ in history.”
No national flower
Many in the Opposition suspect that the BJP-led government may declare the saffron party’s election symbol, lotus, as the national flower. However, the government in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday maintained that it has so far not given the status of ‘national flower’ to any flower. Union Minister of State for Home Nityananda Rai said the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change had notified tiger and peacock as the national animal and national bird, respectively, through notifications issued in 2011. “However, no such notification has been issued regarding ‘national flower’ by the ministry,” he said.