State can be Web3 capital: Mano Thangaraj

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu, which is already the SAAS capital of the country, has the potential to be the Web3 capital, too, said Minister for IT and Digital Services Mano Thangaraj.

Addressing the ‘TN Web3 - Build Ahead’ meet organised by the Electronics Development Corporation of Tamil Nadu (ELCOT) in association with the industry here, the Minister noted that any new industry need two things to succeed: an inclusive government and talent. Tamil Nadu has both, he said, adding that the government was ready to support the stakeholders to make the State the Web3 capital of the world.

“The government is trying to rope in all players in the Web3 space. We are taking the initiative to usher in new data-enabled governance, which is transparent and effective. We urge all players in the ecosystem to be part of it and the government will support all the good projects and initiatives,” he added.

TRB Rajaa MLA, member of the State Planning Commission, pointed out that Web3 was a new and emerging field with a lot of promise and any futuristic government would be committed to advancing its cause for the larger public good.

“The government should be ahead of the curve and understand the new technologies so that they can be put to best use. We urge the industry to come up with inputs that the government could work on in terms of enabling growth,” said IT Secretary Neeraj Mittal. ELCOT managing director Ajay Yadav said the conclave would significantly advance the industry-government conversation.

Giottus CEO Vikram Subburaj said Web3 was the next upgrade of the internet, with global giants like Facebook, Google, TCS, Tesla, MasterCard, BlackRock Investments, PayPal, and Samsung investing in Web3 projects. According to him, Web3 and blockchain can add a staggering $1.1 trillion to India’s GDP by 2032.

The event was organised as a thought leadership initiative to build sustainable and healthy Web3 hubs that could provide jobs to more than 10,000 people a year and to explore the rapidly evolving technologies and ongoing projects in the areas of blockchain and decentralised finance.