
India’s central bank has reportedly denied setting up a unit to research cryptocurrency, blockchain and artificial intelligence as the media reported last month. This unit was supposed to research, draft rules, and supervise new emerging technologies.
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RBI Denies Setting Up Crypto Research Unit
There have been reports circulating in the media over the past month that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had set up a research unit for cryptocurrency, blockchain, and artificial intelligence. However, the central bank has now reportedly denied setting up a research unit for this purpose.
On Sept. 26, Coin Crunch India published an article stating that the central bank “denies setting up research unit on cryptocurrency, blockchain or AI.” The information comes from RBI’s response to a Right to Information (RTI) request filed by the author of the article, Naimish Sanghvi. An RTI allows any citizen of India to request information from a public authority. To the central bank, Sanghvi requested:
An Economic Times report…claims that RBI has setup a new unit to research AI and blockchain technology. Please let us know if this is true and who is heading this unit.
He explained, “I personally filed an RTI application asking the RBI to provide more information on the new unit.” The URL to the Economic Times article was also provided in the RTI. Sanghvi noted, “About a month later, on September 26, RBI disposed of the RTI with the below reply.”
There is no new unit created formally in RBI for the purpose mentioned in RTI query. Therefore there is no information to furnish in the matter.
The Unit Supposedly Created by RBI
Reports of the