Govt to devise UPI like stack for its biggest bet on blockchain project - ‘IndiaChain’

Blockchain and Artificial Intelligence (AI) are priorities for the central government and its think-tank agency, Niti Aayog. After submitting a policy paper on AI, the commission is working on frameworks for IndiaChain - a blockchain based ecosystem promoted by the government (similar to UPI).

Citing sources, FactorDaily reports that the work on the blockchain paper is in full swing and Niti Aayog will come up with policy papers by the beginning of the first week of July.

The government think-tank along with other stakeholders have been working for the past few months on the application of blockchain technology for various aspects of governance.

However, attempts of establishing use cases in maintaining land records, awarding degrees, tackling fake drugs menace, and health record aren’t the part of India chain. They were mere experimentations, adds the report.

Since the commission is devising the initial policy framework and discussion papers, Niti Aayog is likely to suggest a UPI alike framework for IndiaChain. On the lines of Unified Payment Interface, IndiaChain may open its Application Programming Interface (API) and make it interoperable for the benefit of private players.

Government departments and private companies can also leverage it to build ‘sidechains’ (establishing use case in a specific area) which can be linked back to IndiaChain.

Sources in the report indicate that government will build and standardise data layers, providing enough control through consent.

While the government's enthusiasm seems very action oriented in the fields of AI and blockchain, it’s yet to share outcomes achieved through initial experiments.

Blockchain-based solutions, once implemented across sectors on the scale, will be a huge boost in bringing transparency in governance and reducing frauds. Currently, the government is also working on the blockchain-enabled project in the states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.