India Trained 3,000 Police Officers on Crypto Investigations in One Year

India’s Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) annual report announced that officials from various cybercrime and police departments received training in cryptocurrency forensics and investigation during the financial year 2022–2023.

The MHA emphasized that 141 officers were trained on darknet and cryptocurrency investigations under the Narcotics Control Bureau, India’s central law enforcement and intelligence agency. They attended workshops on digital footprints, gathering intelligence and evidence from open sources and social media.

The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre also trained over 2,800 cyber police officials in cryptocurrency forensics and investigations, as well as emerging technologies such as anonymization networks and investigating the misuse of mobile applications in cyberspace.

India is taking measures to combat potential cryptocurrency-related crimes, while also exploring the use of blockchain technology in mainstream applications.

Hindustan Petroleum (HPCL), a state-owned oil and gas company in India, has recently launched a blockchain system that allows for automated verification of purchase orders (POs). HPCL collaborated with blockchain software firm Zupple Labs to integrate its blockchain-based digital credentialing technology into the purchase order system.

This integration automates the verification of HPCL POs to external parties by combining the blockchain system with HPCL’s internal e-PO and generating tamper-evident verifiable POs. A spokesperson for HPCL confirmed that this implementation will help to streamline the verification process of POs and improve efficiency.