India’s National Informatics Centre (NIC), a government agency, currently hosts almost eight million government-issued verifiable documents on five blockchains. The NIC, operating under the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY), recently launched a website to showcase its blockchain initiatives. These initiatives include hosting 7.93 million documents related to education, property, judiciary, and drug logistics on the blockchain.
India primarily utilizes three blockchain platforms, namely Hyperledger Fabric, Hyperledger Sawtooth, and Ethereum, for the development of these products. The five blockchain projects currently live in India are certificate chain, document chain, drug logistics chain, judiciary chain, and property chain.
The documents hosted on the blockchain come from six states and three government departments, including the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSC), the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, and the Ministry of Justice. By adopting blockchain technology, these departments have enabled verification services for property ownership, birth and death certificates, supply chain management for medicines, and educational certificates.
India is also working on proof-of-concept blockchains for land records, blood banks, backtracking goods and services tax (GST), and a Public Distribution System (PDS). Last year, Hindustan Petroleum partnered with blockchain software firm Zupple Labs to integrate blockchain-based digital credentialing technology into its purchase order system.
India’s motivation behind implementing blockchain is to combat document forgery. By using blockchain, the government can issue verifiable and immutable certificates that cannot be altered or misused.
Although India has been hesitant to fully legitimize cryptocurrencies, it has generally accepted blockchain technology. State and local governments across the country contribute to the nation’s blockchain adoption drive.