Thing(s) pertaining to ownership, implementation of inheritance, management and virtualization of assets through blockchain technology, which were impossible or infeasible a decade back, have now become feasible. For all practical purposes, we can say blockchain is a chain of blocks which helps maintain databases and helps to share and to transmit information and data. And as ownership of everything is unique in the real world, each of these things can be assigned a unique identity in the virtual world and, this has been made possible with the use of blockchain technology. The blockchain is a detailed, real time ledger/database of anything that can be recorded (from finance based transactions to ownership of physical assets) stored in a decentralized/ distributed peer to peer fashion. The whole of the record is encrypted and time stamped. The users, who own the assets or essentially, the part of blockchain for that matter can tamper/ edit the data, and the access to these privileges are gained because they have a private key of their own which is like a digital signature or password or proof of their ownership. Every node owns a copy of this database, so essentially, the majority will have to agree to keep the database in sync. The tampered copies would not be considered as this whole system is based on consensus.

Why use blockchain

• The stored content is a cryptographically encrypted digest of the required file which is linked to a definite time in which the document was submitted/ stored giving proof that the data/ file existed at a definite particular instance of time.
• Anonymity, privacy and decentralized proof of data.
• The document will be time stamped even if the organization itself goes down.
• Establishing ownership of the document or asset without the data being revealed is also possible through the blockchain technology.
• One of the best applications of blockchain technology is the proof that the data was created or modified at a certain time without the fear of it being manipulated. Technically, the resources worth 500 best supercomputers, i.e.,bitcoin network could be used for verifying and certifying the truthfulness of the data.
• If the document is uploaded and it is modified and re-uploaded again, the hash of the document will change, and the system will recognise it as a different document on the blockchain network. Therefore, in essence, the certified document cannot be tampered with/ changed.

The main advantages of the blockchain in itself are as below:

• Cost and complexity reduction
• Increased transaction processing speed
• Reduced administrative burden and transaction costs
• Improved audit quality
• Autonomous execution
• Proven and authenticated transactions
• Reduced litigation
• Real-time transactions
• Reliable and irreversible transfers of digital goods
• Inclusive participation of citizens
• Supporting Internet-of Things (IoT) ecosystems
• Data protection and data integrity assurance
• Crypto-certified data
• Trusted record-keeping
• Reliable and resistant to outages
• Transparency and traceability of transactions
• Tax fraud reduction
• Reduction in money laundering
• Ensuring the correct use of funds

Government initiatives in India implementing blockchain technology:

• The government of Maharashtra in association with FICCI organized the Maharashtra Tech Summit to enable Digital Transformation through Blockchain. Topics covered Reimagining Financial Inclusion with Blockchain, Blockchain – Enhancing skill and talent landscape of India, Moving beyond Financial Services – Improving Supply Chain & Manufacturing with IoT – Driven Blockchains, and Blockchain and Governance.[1]

• The government of Andhra Pradesh hosted the first ever Agriculture based hackathon in liaison with CII, and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to open up the dimensions of technology in the agricultural sector and value chain.[2]

• West Bengal Land Records is in the process of testing a distributed ledger based blockchain solution POC to enable land registration , transfers and mutations, duty payments, record modifications, verifications and reporting functionalities.[3]

• Telangana is also exploring using Blockchain for Land Records through an RFP for a System Integrator Andhra Pradesh has started working on a POC for Land Records using blockchain in Dec ‘ 17.[4]

• NITI Aayog along with Proffer organized a blockchain summit and hackathon to drive efficiency, transparency, privacy and cost across multiple sectors.[5]

• The government of Rajasthan organized a hackathon on technology themes including blockchain to explore new age technology based problem solving for the state.
• Recently, on 2 August, 2018, the Government of India, through Ministry of Commerce and Industry through the office of the controller general of patents, designs and trademarks sent a notice inviting expression of interest (eoi) for making use of artificial intelligence, blockchain, IOT and other latest technologies in patent processing system of IPO.[6]

BSFI sectors implementing blockchain

• ICICI Bank implemented an international trade finance transaction with Emirates NBD, enabling all parties of the transaction to access real time data.

• ICICI Bank led a real-time remittance transaction, enabling instant money transfer in ICICI bank Mumbai, India branch, to an Emirates NBD branch in Dubai.

• Axis Bank has launched a service for its retail customers in India to receive payments from RakBank in UAE and for its corporate customers in India to receive payments from Standard Chartered Bank in Singapore.

• Bajaj Allianz General Insurance has hastened the process of claims settlement in the travel and motor segments by leveraging on blockchain technology.

• YES Bank is using a smart contract on a blockchain in order to allow Bajaj Electricals to process disbursement of funds and discounting to its vendors.

• State Bank of India, is in the process of deploying a smart contract for KYC solution over BankChain, a community of Indian and foreign banks which are developing blockchain solutions.

• HDFC Life insurtech hackathon generated a first of a kind buzz in life insurance sector for the use of blockchains and other new age technology use like IOT and AI to come up with solutions for use cases.[7]

GOK Standardised Blockchain Implementation Approach