India Hosts Nearly 8 Million Verifiable Government Documents on Blockchains

India’s National Informatics Centre (NIC), a government agency operating under the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY), has hosted almost eight million government-issued verifiable documents on five blockchains. 

The NIC recently launched a dedicated website to showcase its various blockchain initiatives, revealing that a wide range of documents related to education, property, judiciary, and drug logistics are currently hosted on these blockchains.

To develop these blockchain-based solutions, India primarily relies on three platforms, including Hyperledger Fabric, Hyperledger Sawtooth, and Ethereum.

The five blockchain products currently in use are certificate chain, document chain, drug logistics chain, judiciary chain, and property chain.

These solutions have been implemented by six states and three government departments, including the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, and the Ministry of Justice.

The adoption of blockchain technology by these departments has enabled efficient verification services for property ownership, birth and death certificates, supply chain management of medicines, and educational certificates. 

India Exploring Additional Use Cases for Blockchain

Furthermore, India is actively exploring additional use cases for blockchain, such as land records, blood banks, backtracking goods and services tax (GST), and a Public Distribution System (PDS).

The introduction of blockchain technology in government processes is a strategic move by India to combat the long-standing issue of document forgery. 

By leveraging blockchain, the government can issue digitally verifiable and tamper-proof certificates that are resistant to alteration or misuse by malicious actors.

Although India has been cautious in fully embracing cryptocurrencies, the country has generally embraced blockchain technology. 

Numerous state and local governments are actively contributing to India’s blockchain adoption drive. 

Notably, Hindustan Petroleum (HPCL), a state-run oil and gas company, recently launched a blockchain system to automate the verification of purchase orders (POs).

Through a partnership with Zupple Labs, a blockchain software firm, HPCL integrated blockchain-based digital credentialing technology into its purchase order system.

In February last year, India’s government unveiled its crypto tax plans, which included a proposal to tax gains from crypto transfers at a 30% rate.

Moreover, any buyer of virtual digital assets would have to pay a 1% tax deduction at source (TDS).

However, after the country’s controversial tax policy came into effect, it adversely impacted trading volumes on local cryptocurrency exchanges.

Indian Crypto Exchanges See Increased Trading

As reported, the recent surge in the price of Bitcoin has injected fresh life into Indian cryptocurrency exchanges, as trading volumes on the top platforms reached a ten-month high in February. 

CoinDCX, WazirX, and BitBNS, the leading Indian exchanges, recorded trading volumes of $2.6 million, $3.4 million, and $7.8 million last month, respectively.

These figures represent their highest monthly volumes since June 2023, although they still fall short of the historic peak witnessed in 2021.

The uptick in trading volumes on Indian exchanges comes as these platforms have grappled with low trading volumes since the bear market of 2022-23, compounded further by the Indian government’s imposition of a 30 percent tax on cryptocurrency trading.