Government Think Tank to Trial Blockchain Verification in India

An Indian government policymaking body is eyeing the potential applications of blockchain technology across various sectors.

As part of that process, the National Institution for Transforming India, known as NITI Aayog, is developing a proof-of-concept to explore blockchain in key sectors including education, health and agriculture, the Economic Times says.

An anonymous senior government official reportedly said that blockchain's promise in secure document verification is the primary reason for potential adoption of the tech.

The move comes after the think tank conducted a hackathon in November 2017 on the use of blockchain technology – an event jointly organised with Harvard-based blockchain startup Proffer.

While India's government has been largely skeptical on cryptocurrencies, it has looked on blockchain technology more favorably.

In June 2017, several regional governments in India, including Andhra Pradesh, revealed they were looking into applications of blockchain technology in land registries – systems used to keep track of who owns which properties.

Further, in September of last year, India's central bank research group announced plans to launch a new blockchain platform to build and support a range of banking-related services.

Indian government building image via Shutterstock