The blockchain technology adoption is on the rise globally. Most of the countries across the world are realizing the benefits of the open ledger and applying the technology to accomplish a number of tasks in different domains. India, one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, has also witnessed an increase in the efforts to adopt blockchain in different segments across the industries. The Indian government is making incremental steps towards blockchain adoption, but the private sector has been quite vocal and vociferous about the adoption of blockchain for a number of applications.
Blockchain Sectors and Segments
Along the global lines, blockchain technology has seen a considerable influence in the financial technology domain of the Indian market. It has been used in order to accomplish a number of tasks – from keeping the records to cross-border remittances and from decreasing the number of intermediaries to settling the claims in the insurance sector. One of the major benefits associated with the use of blockchain technology in the financial domain is a reduction in the paperwork, which ultimately leads to a decrease in overall processing costs associated with the system.
As the process of issuing a smart contract essentially removes the middle, this leads to a considerable reduction in the processing fees, thereby making the transactions more cost affordable and less human-dependent. India has also witnessed an enviable growth in the use of blockchain technology for digital identity management, which again yields a number of benefits on the processing fees, documentation and has made the processes more affordable than before.
The supply chain domain is another significant sector that has witnessed a spurt in the use of blockchain technology in India. There are a number of parties involved in the exchange of material and information in a typical supply-chain, and here the use of blockchain technology can significantly improve the efficiency of the transfer processes between different stakeholders. Using blockchain, the exchange of information becomes more streamline and can be made easily available for each and every stakeholder, thereby making the process more transparent and accountable.
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In addition to these sectors, we are also witnessing an increase in the blockchain use cases in the manufacturing sector, the educational sector, and the healthcare sector among others. Many state governments are also using blockchain technology for keeping track of the data, processes, and systems, achieving better working efficiency. Take, for instance, the Telangana state government which is exploring the possibility of blockchain application in the Motor Vehicle Department. Similarly, many universities in India are also taking up efforts to add their students’ credentials on the blockchain.
Blockchain Ecosystem
The contribution of SOMISH, a company operating in the segment of product and technology innovation in India, deserves a special mention. The company specializes in the development of product and technology solutions and has been serving the clients cutting across industries for more than ten years now.
Along with providing technology solutions, SOMISH is heavily involved in building a blockchain ecosystem in the country. It is developing and promoting technology and uses cases on various tenets of blockchain to different organizations across the industries. Along with SOMISH, other significant organizations that are helping to build the blockchain ecosystem in India include the likes of EzyRemit, Signzy, Primechain, PSI PHI Blockchain Labs, and Darwin Labs.
Role of Industry and academia
With the growing number of applications in the industry domains, educational institutions in India are also adopting the courses on blockchain technology, artificial intelligence, and the internet of things (IoT). The Institutions of repute in India such as the Indian Institute of Technology (IITs) and Indian Institute of Science (IISc) have courses on the blockchain technology and this has been done specifically to make future professionals ready to embrace these new-age technologies. One of the regulatory bodies on the educational system in the country, All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has also included a number of initiatives in the curriculum of the undergraduate courses for providing impetus to the adoption of blockchain in India.
Changing Viewpoint
It can be safely concluded that despite having a conservative view on the cryptocurrency, the efforts to embrace the blockchain technology in India are very much positive in their approach. There is no resistance from the government (or any other regulatory agency) and in fact, central and state governments are very much cognizant of the fact that blockchain has the potential to reduce the cost while adding to work efficiency significantly. This is the reason why we are witnessing a huge number of blockchain applications in the government departments. In fact, the gains made by blockchain technology in the country are lauded by many crypto enthusiasts. For example, Nischal Shetty, the founder and chief executive officer of WazirX cryptocurrency exchange, has expressed happiness over positive steps that India is taking in order to embrace the concept of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. Just so you know, WazirX is counted among India’s most trusted and popular cryptocurrency exchange.
Conclusion
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Although the adoption of blockchain in the country has gathered steam, there is a need to do much more, specifically to increase the number of use cases of blockchain technology in the different segments. Policymakers should provide impetus to blockchain adoption by increasing the funding for the blockchain research and establishing a link between academia and corporate to strengthen the number of use cases. The full integration of blockchain is a long journey and it should be pursued with dogged determination so as to realize its full benefits on a larger scale.
