Indian government-backed learning initiative SWAYAM offers free course on cryptocurrencies and blockchain

SWAYAM, a learning initiative backed by the Indian Ministry of Human Resource Development, is offering a computer science course on Bitcoin, cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology, Bitcoin.com reported.

Study Webs of Active Learning for Young Aspiring Minds (or SWAYAM) was launched last August in order to provide one integrated platform and portal for online courses.

The undergraduate course, entitled “Blockchain Architecture Design and Use Cases,” is free to enroll and learn from. Starting on July 29, the course will be run with technical partner IBM.

“This course is a joint venture from academia and industry, where the target is to cover both the conceptual as well as application aspects of Blockchain. This includes the fundamental design and architectural primitives of Blockchain, the system and the security aspects, along with various use cases from different application domains,” the website reads.

The 12-week course will cover a range of topics, starting from introduction to blockchain, basic crypto primitives, consensus mechanisms, permissioned blockchains, Hyperledger Fabric, and IBM Blockchain, among others. It will also focus on various use cases of blockchain technology.

Instructors include Prof. Sandip Chakraborty, Assistant Professor with Department of Computer Science and Engineering, IIT Kharagpur, and Dr. Praveen Jayachandran, research staff member, master inventor and manager of the Blockchain and Smart Contracts team at IBM Research, India.

While the course is free to enroll, those who wish to get a certificate would have to register and write the proctored exam in person at any of the designated exam centres. The exam is optional for a fee of INR1000 and will be held on November 17 2019.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court of India is scheduled to hear the ongoing cryptocurrency case next month. Recent reports have suggested that the inter-ministerial committee headed by the Indian Department of Economic Affairs secretary Subhash Chandra Garg has proposed a draft bill that seeks to make it illegal to hold, sell or deal in cryptocurrencies in the country. The authenticity of the reports, however, could not be confirmed.

Bitcoin.com said that the report containing the proposed regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies will be soon submitted to the finance minister. India attended the recently held G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting in Japan and has reaffirmed that it will follow the standards established by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).