On January 3, 2009, Satoshi Nakamoto mined the first block of Bitcoin in a first-ever blockchain transaction. Since then, blockchain technology has advanced and spread throughout the world. However, it is still regarded as a technology used exclusively by corporations and start-ups, making it impossible to imagine how useful it might be in governance.

There are several problems in India that blockchain technology can address, including supply chain management, identity theft, corruption, disease control, tracking rural land ownership, improving voter turnout, tracking livestock, and controlling the spread of counterfeit drugs. State governments, particularly, are using technology for welfare benefits.  

For instance, the Rajasthan government unveiled a blockchain-based electronic health record project in December 2017. The platform made use of Bhamashah, Rajasthan’s regional data hub, to maintain a single version of the truth of blockchain, and health records were secured thanks to the use of blockchain technology for electronic health records (EHR). Doctors, hospitals, labs, and insurers are just a few examples of the medical entities and people who may ask for access to a patient’s information stored on the blockchain. With the implementation of the technology, healthcare professionals can better care for patients based on more accurate data while patients have a greater choice over who accesses their data.

Rajasthan was one of the first states to adopt Blockchain technology in day-to-day governance. Since then, many state governments have launched their own blockchain projects, which have been quite successful so far. 

Indian government solving complex problems with blockchain

The Ministry of Electronics and Information technology (MeitY) has set up a Centre of Exchange in blockchain technology (CoE). According to the website, the National Informatics Centre (NIC) and CoE teams will work with professionals worldwide to develop and execute novel blockchain solutions from proof of concept to production. The four products that have been successfully developed so far are Certificate Chain, Document Chain, Property Chain, and Logistic Chain.

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Based on these four products, the state governments are making their own blockchain-based platforms. For instance, the Maharashtra government is leveraging distributed ledgers to revamp documentation of land property in the region. Punjab is using blockchain to undertake certification and traceability of seed potatoes right from the nucleus to seed-level (harvest). With this, the farmers of Punjab will be able to trace the origin of the seeds they are purchasing, which will eventually help in better crop production. 

Recently, Firozabad Police in Uttar Pradesh launched a platform based on Polygon blockchain for police complaints. As per Ashish Tiwari, SSP, Firozabad Police, “The benefit of using blockchain is that the complaints registered on it can’t be tampered with as data recorded is immutable and transparent.”

One of the most active governments in the blockchain space, the Karnataka government, is building a permissioned blockchain network to operate as a decentralised layer of efficiency and trust for all national eGovernment Procurement (e-GP) services. The claims of suppliers, as well as their identities, will be verified using the blockchain network. The proposed system will provide a network connection between all the e-GP systems, enabling the retrieval and validation of pertinent supplier data between the various e-GP Systems now in operation in India.

Private companies like StaTwig are creating solutions like vaccine ledger, which provides unique digital identities for each vial and features like traceability. Likewise, Slovenia-based blockchain firm CargoX is using the public Ethereum blockchain to provide electronic bills of lading, electronic delivery orders, certificates of origin, letters of credit, and other trade documentation across all import and export transactions at Indian ports. 

Problems in India 

Corruption is a big problem in India, and blockchain could help to reduce it. For example, blockchain could be used to create a transparent and tamper-proof system for tracking government spending. This would make it much harder for corrupt officials to divert or misappropriate funds. Financial inclusion is another big issue in India. There are an estimated 260 million adults in India who do not have access to formal financial services. Blockchain-based financial services could help to reach these people and provide them with access to banking, payments, and other financial services.

 Supply chain management blockchain could help improve supply chain management in India. For example, blockchain-based tracking systems could be used to track the movement of goods through the supply chain, from the point of manufacture to the point of sale. This would help to ensure that goods are not lost or stolen and that they are delivered on time.