Blockchain will change the way govts are run

With a majority of the state governments planning to invest Rs 200-300 crore on blockchain technology in the next 3-5 years, it is high time, experts feel, that the Government of India must develop a tailor-made Indianized government blockchain platform which all government agencies could best utilize.

In the last one year or so, State governments’ have developed successful used cases for Citizen Identification (Digital Ids), Student Life Cycle Management (KG to PG marks sheet/certificates access), Vehicle Life Cycle Management (from dealer to customer including vehicle registration), Land Registration, Electronic Medical Records / DNA record of each citizen and others. 

“Though blockchain technology is still immature in India, multi blockchain integrations need to be developed and implemented both by Government of India and state governments to translate government policies into smart contracts. It may take another 3-5 years in India to embrace blockchain,” V Srinivasa Rao (VSR), CMD, BT & BT Management Consultancy and Blockchain Strategy Consultant for one of the state governments of India. 

“Different blockchain platforms have to be built to help various industries. For example, student chain, government chain, health chain, agri-chain, land chain, etc.,” VSR said and added, “India by its sheer size and volume of trade can put the technology to its best use for a potential industry like the supply chain and logistics industry.”

Not only supply chain & logistics, a combination of blockchain with IoT (Internet of Things) combination will bring exceptional value for the transport of perishable goods (fruits, fishery) from one location to another location by tracking the maintenance of temperature, ventilation in the truck in transit and sending alerts proactively if there is possibility of damage to goods. 

“Many startups in India have been focusing on point solutions and not enterprise-scale solutions. Even so, it brings tremendous short-term value to reduce costs and drive operational efficiencies,” says Dinesh Chandrasekhar, VP Digital Innovation, Pactera Technology International. Blockchain will be the next generation of internet, you may call it Internet 4.0. The immutability and transparency become one of the significant features of blockchain. 

It’s beyond bitcoin and we have numerous use cases across industries for the blockchain technology, Dinesh added. From a government-citizen perspective, blockchain technology can play a key role in building citizens confidence on the governments. Says Rajesh Dhuddu, Blockchain Function Head, Tech Mahindra: “Blockchain technology plays a critical role in the government-citizen relationship as the technology helps the governments’ to provide their services with much more visibility and transparency reducing the incidence of fraud and corruption.”  

A recent study by McKinsey that combines industry-by-industry analysis, expert interviews, and more than 90 distinct use cases to make informed estimates about the projected business value of the blockchain says, blockchain is not a single system, but a baseline technology which can be configured in different ways to suit different purposes and business models.

Blockchain business value
There are a few key areas where blockchain can add business value, even before broadscale adoption: 

Cost reduction
What if your business no longer had to pour profits into logistics, intermediaries, and an administrative paper trail? The blockchain can streamline supply chains, cutting out the middleman and banishing processes that slow efficiency and eat profits.

Revenue creation
The blockchain breaks down administrative and collaborative barriers, making way for an innovative business strategies which simply weren’t feasible before the advent of distributed ledgers. With this new freedom, blockchain paves the way for new infrastructure and revenue models.

Consumer Impact
New business models provide the opportunity to meet previously overlooked needs of consumers and communities. In the medical field, where remote patient care and record-keeping may have been an issue in the past, blockchain advances provide ways to overcome those barriers using synchronised records and smart care devices on the network.

Blockchain disruption
Blockchain disruption is already making waves in financial services, government, and healthcare. Let’s take a glimpse at the way it could impact a few other industries:

Agriculture
Blockchain can transform the agricultural supply chain by streamlining the transition from farm to market, and quickly pinpointing sources in the event of food safety outbreaks. By reducing intermediaries, third world and small-scale farmers have an opportunity to join the supply chain.

Automotive
Companies can spread their operations to more effectively take advantage of economies of scale, by using blockchain to streamline the supply chain. Blockchain can also improve ride-sharing platforms, spurring on the transport revolution.

Insurance
Self-executing smart contracts and distributed databases can increase efficiency while reducing costs and risk of fraud.

Blockchain for all
The sheer scope of blockchain’s potential uses means there’s something for almost everyone, from startups to major players. The broad spectrum of use cases across industries might be why blockchain and crypto-related firms have raised almost $3.9 billion in venture capital so far this year — a 280 per cent rise compared to last year. The rise comes in an increasing number of deals, as well as the burgeoning median value of each.