India’s tryst with cryptocurrencies has been ongoing for quite some time with the Supreme Court standing firmly against the field. This has not stopped Indians from innovating in the sphere and creating new products.
On January 27, Harshita Arora, an 18-year-old app developer won the Bal Shakti Puraskar Award for inventing the Crypto Price Tracker.
The budding entrepreneur created the application to help in portfolio management and cryptocurrency price tracking. Arora was given the award in recognition of her passion for science, technology, and human welfare. Indian PM Narendra Modi had tweeted in her recognition saying:
I am delighted that the very talented Harshita Arora has been conferred the Bal Shakti Puraskar 2020!
She has been focussing on a wide range of sectors. Her passion towards science, technology and human welfare are clearly visible. pic.twitter.com/DgpZaXbViQ
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 24, 2020
Arora’s application Crypto Price Tracker, analyzes and keeps records of price movements for more than a thousand cryptocurrencies. At the same time, the app will also track details of 18 cryptocurrency exchanges as well as 32 fiat currencies. The application was highly praised and well-received, leading to its acquisition by Redwood City Ventures.
The Bal Shakti award is usually given by the government to someone who has created tectonic shifts in a particular industry. In this case, Harshita Arora was given the award for her excellence in the field of innovation. A cryptocurrency application being in the positive limelight is expected to create a ripple effect across all sectors.
The recognition comes at a time when India is at a critical juncture with regards to cryptocurrency discussions. Just last week, the Indian Supreme Court started hearing arguments on the petitions of crypto businesses against the central bank ban on crypto again.
Asim Sood, the advocate representing crypto companies put forth the statement that cryptocurrencies are actually ‘currencies’. Sood also questioned the Reserve Bank of India’s decision to ban crypto as they resemble legal commodities. The defendants claimed that it was the ‘mode of exchange’ cryptocurrencies that was the main problem.
The ‘mode of exchange’ factor would mean that all digital assets fall under the purview of the monetary regulatory which was the RBI. Some other experts have also shared their opinion on the ongoing problems. Sumit Gupta, the co-founder of CoinDCX said that governments make decisions based on how they value a particular asset. This particular metric for judgement cannot be changed.
The earlier proceedings had not drawn out a complete solution for this predicament but the Court is expected to come to a consensus this week. The award mentioned earlier might just prove to be an indicator that reveals the Court’s final stance.
