Amid the debate over the fate of cryptocurrencies in the country, a government document has recommended the setting up of a national blockchain framework for using it in e-governance by adopting the emerging technology.
“This document provides an insight on strategies and recommendations for creating a trusted digital platform using Blockchain Technology (BCT), facilitating trusted service delivery to citizens and businesses and also make India a global leader in terms of research and development and harnessing the benefits of this emerging technology,” according to the National Strategy on Blockchain towards enabling trusted digital platforms to report prepared by the ministry of electronics and information technology (Meity).
It is said that the potential of BCT may be explored in the proposed public digital platforms in various sectors like agriculture, health, energy, and others for meeting enhanced security requirements.
The report said that integration of the National Blockchain Framework with online Electronic Signatures (e-Sign), ePramaan and DigiLocker would be an added advantage. It said globally several countries have launched platforms and services using blockchain technology and many vendors are offering blockchain-as-a-service to customers. It cited examples from China, UAE, the US, Brazil, Chile, Canada, Singapore, Switzerland and its use by companies such as LG, Samsung, Amazon, Microsoft, Oracle, and IBM.
Initially, the National Framework would be used for the e-governance domain. The transition would be made to incorporate various use cases beyond e-governance and the National Blockchain Framework would be open for relevant stakeholders. The government would define the policies and guidelines, the report said.
