Govt proposes National Blockchain Framework to speed up blockchain adoption

Even as the Ministry of Finance is readying to introduce a bill on cryptocurrencies, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) on Friday released a 52-page document that seeks to “create trusted digital platforms through shared blockchain infrastructure” and promote “research and development, innovation, technology and application development” around the technology. 

Blockchain is the underlying technology of cryptocurrencies and is being used to create applications for the third generation of the Internet (web3) today.

The document titled 'National Strategy on Blockchain' also provides insights on the government’s strategies and has recommendations for creating such digital platforms in the future.

MeitY has identified 44 key areas where blockchains can be applied, including transfer of land and property, digital certificate management, pharmaceutical supply chains, e-notary services, e-voting, smart grid management, electronic health record management and more. The document also takes into consideration blockchain-based platforms created by governments in China, Brazil, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Europe, and highlights various government-led initiatives on blockchain that are already underway.

“The potential of BCT (blockchain technology) may be explored in the proposed public digital platforms in various sectors like agriculture, health, energy etc., for meeting enhanced security requirements,” the document recommends. 

Further, the MeitY has also recommended the formation of a National Blockchain Framework (NBF), which can be utilized in areas such as health, agriculture, education, finance and more. The document says that a “geographically distributed national level shared infrastructure” is needed in order to “enable citizen services at large scale and enable cross domain application development”. 

“This National Blockchain Framework (NBF) with core research components would be developed with intermediate milestones consisting of a basic framework for reference implementation, integration with various existing infrastructure and services, reference implementations of real-life projects and sandbox environments for development and testing of applications,” the document stated

It added that a “multi-institutional collaborative approach” between government, academia, industry and R&D labs will be needed.

“The National Strategy on Blockchain by the MeitY provides a holistic framework for building a blockchain infrastructure for the nation. We, as an industry, are looking forward to collaborating with the government in its vision of enabling trusted digital platforms in the country,” said Ashish Singhal, Founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of crypto exchange Coinswitch Kuber. 

“The industry believes the roadmap will foster innovation in the digital world and improve processes and government models,” Singh, who is also the co-chair of the Blockchain and Crypto Assets Council (BACC) under the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), added.

The document said that the MeitY will work with other government organizations and stakeholders to implement the strategy.