Blockchain is a disruptive technology which unlike 3D printing, driverless cars etc. is not restricted to point-wise applications and has a diverse all-pervasive impact on the economy. National initiatives can be crowd-funded using Initial Coin Offerings, ICOs, which are the latest craze among global investors. There are many common citizens now who boast of multiple cryptocurrency tokens they have invested in.
"Cleanliness is more important than Independence." - Mahatma Gandhi
Proposing to the Govt. of India to launch a crypto-currency called “SBA Coin” in honour of SWACHH BHARAT ABHIYAN campaign, as one of the arms of the Digital India initiatives, with the sole objective of accelerating cleanliness outcomes in our cities and villages.
The token represents an investor’s commitment to cleanliness. More tokens means more stakes in the national initiative.
Benefits
Innovative mechanism for raising funds for community service
Increased awareness and on-the-ground implementation of ‘Cleanliness’ in all Indians
Incentives and penalties happen automatically and autonomously. No central body to blame, credit.
NRIs can also participate. Country also accumulates foreign exchange as well as other crypto currencies that keep appreciating.
Once the framework is set, similar ICOs can be considered for other initiatives like Make In India, Krishi Kalyan, India Solar etc.
How it works
The objectives and social message for the token needs to be verbalized.
The overall technical and deployment design for launch needs to be finalized (quantity of tokens, pre-ICO, ICO price, bonus distribution, annual inflation, lock-in period, if any). Just like in case of bitcoin the total amount of coins to every manifest must be finalized and certain amounts must be ‘released’ periodically to keep the balance and interest of investors alive.
The Government of India launches a pre-ICO and then ICO for Swachh Bharat and issues fixed number of tokens using the marvel of blockchain technologies.
Voluntary donations to SwachhBharat fund increase the price value of the coin and are eligible for tax exemptions. As an initial attraction, early investors and citizens who buy Swachh Bharat tokens are eligible for some tax rebates for say 1 or 2 years.
Investors are free to trade coins on authorized/established crypto-currency exchanges.
Gains can be made tax-free for investors staying invested for 3 years.
Acquiring tokens is through purchase or through offering community work. The autonomous nature of this technology and building of good smart contract will ensure that approvals of ‘transactions’ will happen through a community consensus rather than through a central governing body.
People found littering the locality will be fined, adding to the fund value – and or will need to compensate with equivalent amount of cleaning work allocated. All such transactions are reliably recorded in the distributed ledger.
Civic bodies who have not promptly addressed issues of open drainage, manholes, stagnant water etc. will be penalized, further increasing the value of the fund.
Conversely, cities, local municipal bodies can ‘earn’ SBA coins by winning or being in the top 20 clean cities/communities.
Employers might want to select candidates with a higher SB credit to promote message of cleanliness.
