Minister of State (MoS) in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Rajeev Chandrasekhar recently talked about online gaming and related topics like Web3, banning PUBG and other harmful apps from the market on ‘The Ranveer Show’ podcast.
The show (TRS) is hosted by Ranveer Allahbadia aka BeerBiceps, where he talks with Chandrasekhar on several topics that have and will affect the online gaming industry in India and the reasoning behind it.
PUBG Mobile ban and reasoning
Allahbadia asked if the final decision imposing a ban on one of the most popular Battle Royale game PUBG Mobile was a well-thought and planned decision. Chandrasekhar acknowledged, saying that it is their duty to keep the internet safe for players, especially female gamers.
MeitY recently unbanned BGMI after they made changes according to their guidelines, so players can get right into their favourite battle royale along with other games like Call of Duty mobile, and they don’t want to get in people’s games, but they also have to ensure and maintain safety of online activities.
Chandrasekhar’s views on gaming industry
The new online gaming rules by MeitY are released keeping the online gaming industry in mind, according to Chandrasekhar. They allow the gaming companies to grow, especially the ones that are developing games in India.
While there are several popular games developed outside of India, MeitY along with PM Narendra Modi want there to be more hit games from India. Players will see games that depict Indian culture and history in a few years that are equally exciting as current gaming titles.
Banning harmful gaming apps
The government has previously banned many online games. These include games of different genres and categories, but the ultimate reason for their ban comes down to a few reasons, according to Chandrasekhar. These include transferring player data outside the country, thereby violating privacy under Article 21 of the constitution.
Furthermore, the games that are addictive in nature and can cause harm to people either physically or financially will also be not allowed. Talking about geopolitics angle of banning games, Chandrasekhar said it only extends to people’s data going out of the country. Apart from that, there is no personal grudge in banning games.
Web3 and Cryptocurrency
Web3 and Cryptocurrency, according to Chandrasekhar, are very likely to be the future of gaming, but on the other hand, there are several risks that need to be kept in check regarding these technologies.
The 60-year-old spoke that these topics have been discussed multiple times in cabinet meetings, and one of the most discussed being several players in the Web3 space taking advantage of the blockchain to launder money. He believes that there needs to be a framework to deal with the background working on Web3, so that it is more secured, and includes a protectional guard.