A research group founded by India’s central bank has reportedly announced plans to launch a new blockchain platform. Though the specifics of the launch aren’t clear, the Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology (IDRBT), founded in the 1990s by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), is looking to create a range of banking-related services on top of the tech. According to a report from The Hindu Business Line, the project was disclosed on Friday during a technology awards event by IDRBT director A. S. Ramasastri. "We will be launching this platform very soon," he told attendees. At the urging of the central bank, the research outfit has been exploring applications in the areas of banking since last year. In a report published in January, IDRBT staffers suggested that India could use blockchain as the basis for a digitization of the rupee, the country’s national currency. That call came as India’s government pushed ahead with a plan to demonetize larger denominations of the rupee, a move that continues to be highly controversial to this day, according to recent reports. As previously reported, regulators in India have been studying the tech since 2014, and work continues on possible new rules for cryptocurrency activities in the country. Rupee image via Shutterstock

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