Govt considering its own cryptocurrency

To be named 'Lakshmi', currency to fall in the domain of Reserve Bank

The Central government is considering a proposal to introduce its cryptocurrency similar to Bitcoin.

Sources close to the development said that the proposal was discussed by a committee of government officials, and the panel found the idea of setting up and running blockchain for financial services useful.

Whenever the decision is taken, the cryptocurrency will fall in the domain of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and some Acts such as the Currency Act might have to be amended. Hence, this will be a time-consuming process. 

Sources also said the government might name its cryptocurrency “Lakshmi”. 

Vaibhav Parikh, partner, Nishith Desai Associates, said: “I