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In the present time, newer technologies have entered the landscape in a short period of time. Technologies such as artificial intelligence, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), Metaverse, and blockchain are being adopted by businesses, small or big, worldwide and in India.
During a panel discussion on ‘Changing Gears in Web3: The New of Metaverse, NFT and Crypto’ at the Entrepreneur 2023 Summit in New Delhi, the panellists discussed what is the future of Web3 adoption, especially of blockchain, in India. The panel was moderated by Rajat Mathur Partner, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and comprised of Kameshwaran Elangovan, Co-Founder and COO, Guardianlink; Anuj Kumar Garg, Vice President – Blockchain, ZebPay; Avinash Polepally, Senior Director, Crypto Business Head, ClearTax; Varun Dube, Head of Blockchain at Lab45, Wipro Limited; and Saurabh Gupta, Founder & CEO, Verismart.ai.
The storms called AI and blockchain
One can say that among all the technologies, artificial intelligence has been far ahead of its contemporary technologies. However, blockchain is not lagging far behind. So, how are businesses transforming their operations using AI and Crypto/ Blockchain? Avinash Polepally of ClearTax feels that AI and blockchain/crypto have resulted in a polarizing world. “There is one set of technologies such as AI which is far ahead of the adoption curve, like it’s becoming increasingly difficult for businesses to adopt to AI because the technology is there, it’s just how do we adopt and how fast we adopt. And then there are technologies such as blockchain, Metaverse, and NFTs which are still not as scalable where common use cases or common businesses can adopt them increasingly. We are seeing this polarizing world,” he shares.
The usage of blockchain is largely being done for enterprises and cryptocurrencies. Tech corporates such as TCS, LTIMindtree, Infosys, and Capgemini are actively working in this space to make the organization processes and workflow more efficient. “As far as business blockchains or the blockchain for enterprise are concerned, that is something which is booming a lot in India,” shares Anuj Kumar Garg, Vice President – Blockchain, ZebPay. Garg also feels that the supply chain is a target ecosystem for blockchain adoption for “from smaller companies like Killer Jeans to bigger companies like Jio, everyone is trying to create an ecosystem where they can include traceability in their end-to-end products, using blockchain.”
Blockchain adoption in public sectors
Indian states such as Maharashtra, Odisha, Telangana, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu have introduced blockchain-based initiatives. Says Varun Dube, Head of Blockchain at Lab45, Wipro Limited, “If you talk about adoption, it’s happening. And it’s happening in India, in the public sector. We all crib about the government not coming up with policies and not doing this, all of that is towards the financial aspect of tokens called Crypto. But if you look at the underlying technology of decentralization or blockchain, the maximum and the biggest case studies that exist in India are in the public sector, whether it’s land records or DigiYatra,”
Metaverse and NFTs to propel the blockchain adoption rate
According to Kameshwaran Elangovan, Co-Founder and COO, Guardianlink feels that except for cryptocurrency, blockchain adoption is not taking place at a good rate. Tokenomics play a huge role in gaming where users are able to buy, sell, or trade digital assets, clothing, and skin. He also feels that gaming is a natural extension to adopting NFTs and that it is a part of Metaverse, “within 3-4 years, there will be a huge spike for NFTs and gaming. Gaming is part of Metaverse. The biggest Metaverse currently is going to be Roblox.”
Currently, the Web3 gaming experience is still at its nascence, with Elangovan affirming “You cannot find the experience of Roblox in any of the Web3 games.” The existing offerings are more on the DeFi-based games where users just make coins with a lack of any additional value or interest. He feels the next boom will be in Web3 gaming. The aim is to develop a gaming ecosystem where one cannot feel the blockchain technology, where things are seamless.
Saurabh Gupta, Founder and CEO, Verismart.ai seconds the thought of technology being seamless and almost invisible, “technology is there to solve backend problems and make lives easier. And that is where many people are not aware that they are on the blockchain indirectly.”
“It’s not whether AI is solving a problem or blockchain is solving a problem. It’s a problem and that solution needs all the technologies to come together,” concludes Dube.
