A New Digital Order – Unveiling The Interplay Of Law & Blockchain Technology - Part C | Blockchain Technology In India: Use Case And State Initiatives - Fin Tech

A) Introduction

While blockchain technology fetches its own set of advantages (as discussed in the previous parts), the decentralized nature of the technology renders it a constant source of scuffle against the legal machinery. In this third and final part we seek to encapsulate the various means through which States across India have sought to apply the technology in an attempt to create a cross-section between the technology and various independent sectors with the aim of harnessing the benefits thereof.

B) Blockchain - Use Cases

As discussed in the previous parts of the paper, blockchain technology may be put to use in a variety of sectors. While the most common usage of the technology may be in the domain of crypto-assets at present, however, it is untrue that the technology can only be put to use in the above domain. Continual efforts are on across all levels to utilise the potential of the technology to the utmost extent possible.

Niti Aayog in its January 2020 report titled 'Blockchain: The India Strategy (Part 1)' sets out a use case selection framework (reproduced below):¹

Discussing the aforesaid framework in the context of legal practice appears to be challenging. In order to enable a closer analysis legal practice needs to be split into transactional/advisory and litigation/dispute resolution. While transactional/advisory related legal services may require a permissioned blockchain, dispute resolution may provide a strong case for use for both private and public blockchain (depending on the nature of the dispute). Presently, platforms such as Kleros and Codelegit are providing blockchain enabled dispute resolution platforms for parties.

Other use cases like voting has gained traction especially on account of platforms like FollowMyVote and BitCongress which are taking the conversations around digitizing voting through blockchains forward. The aim of such a protocol is to ensure that an individual can vote only once and the same has to be recorded on the immutable ledger. The process may prove quite beneficial in cases where postal ballots may be rendered inefficient by corruption charges. However, the utility of blockchain technology may prove lacking because a voting network would have to be extremely fast and efficient to record votes from multiple ballot boxes at the same time.

In India, at the central level corporations like the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has developed 'Vajra', a platform that functions on distributed ledger technology to enable automated payments. The network can only be accessed by entities who have received permission from the administrator. India is also set to release its own National Blockchain Framework with the objective of considering various case-uses of the technology.

In 2017, Bankchain was created to act as a community of banks for exploring, building and implementing blockchain solutions. Presently, Bankchain comprises of 37 member banks with 8 live projects. Few of the Bankchain projects include auction of assets, charge registry, contract authentication, verification & storage, shared KYC and due-diligence and Data marketplaces.

In addition to the above there are several numerous blockchain initiatives, the Schedule sets out an indicative list of blockchain initiatives undertaken by various states in India.²

SCHEDULE

	STATES	BLOCKCHAIN INITIATIVES³	STATUS
1.	Andhra Pradesh	Andhra Pradesh has started a pilot program backed by blockchain technology in two departments and plans to expand it to the entire administration. The State intends to adopt the technology to eliminate tampering with land records.⁴ Additionally, the government has partnered up with Zebi data for employment of blockchain in land registry. The government is also partnering with Hitachi to set up an online citizen governance platform.⁵ The Andhra Pradesh government has also sought to turn Vishakhapatnam into a fullfledged fintech ecosystem powered by blockchain technology. The initiative named 'FinTech Valley Vizag' will create a blockchain database that seeks to make government data freely accessible to all.⁶	The State has announced the Draft Blockchain Policy.
2.	Assam	The Assam government is collaborating with Nucleus Vision to integrate the technology with governance processes towards the creation of citizen-facing applications.⁷ The National Law University and Judicial Academy, Assam along with Infinity Law Tech Educational Services has formed NLUJAA-ILTES Centre for Blockchain Technology and Legal Studies.	The NLUJAA-ILTES Centre for Blockchain Technology and Legal Studies is undertaking research and conducting seminars and personnel training for sensitising government officials and others in the field of blockchain.⁸
3.	Chhattisgarh	The Chhattisgarh Infotech Promotion Society ("CHIPS"), an IT nodal agency of the government of Chhattisgarh is taking proactive measures in earmarking areas in which blockchain can be employed.	CHIPS organised 'Blockchain for e- Governance Grand Challenge', where national and international start-ups, companies, and students were encouraged to develop proof-of-concepts (PoCs) in selected 4 domains viz., data exchange management, ehealth records, land record management and open innovation.⁹ The participants would also be offered an opportunity to collaborate with the State in future projects. The State has also collaborated with NITI Aayog to explore the usage of blockchain technology in governance.¹⁰
4.	Delhi	Electricity distribution company BSES Rajdhani Power Ltd ("BRPL") has launched consumer-to-consumer (peer-to-peer or P2P) solar power trading on a trial basis.¹¹ The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) attempts to track the maintenance and growth of 10,000 tree saplings - of neem, peepal, jamun, tamarind, etc. with the help of blockchain technology and geotagging.¹²	BRPL has partnered with Power Ledger, an Australian company. Aiming to implement this at a large scale.¹³
5.	Goa	Government of Goa in collaboration with NITI Aayog, Nucleus Vision and the Government of Telangana organised the International Blockchain Congress.¹⁴	It is not clear whether the State is working on a policy or whether it intends to incorporate the technology in its governance.
6.	Haryana	'Apiary' a Centre of Excellence ("CoE") in Blockchain has been established by the Software Technology Parks of India in association with the government of Haryana to provide knowledge and financial support to start-ups with potential cutting-edge information technology especially in the field of blockchain technology.¹⁵ UNDP in collaboration with the Government of Haryana sponsored Blockscale Solutions to build a land registry using blockchain technology for the city of Panchkula.¹⁶	The CoE has been launched this year at the STPI Incubation Centre in Gurgaon. Pilot project has been completed. Pending with Haryana government for scaling up to larger cities.
7.	Jharkhand	The State government had organised a start-up hackathon based on the theme of innovative citizen centric services using AI/Machine learning and blockchain, with an aim to obtain innovative solutions in the field of governance.¹⁷	A policy for the present year is yet to be released.
8.	Karnataka	National Informatics Centre (NIC) has set up the Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Blockchain technology in Bangalore.¹⁸ The State has arguably been the most proactive and aggressive to examine the scope of incorporation of blockchain policy in governance. The State has also sought to launch an online platform for Intellectual Property, supported by blockchain technology.¹⁹	The State has announced its blockchain policy and it is in the process of incorporating blockchain in governance.

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Footnotes

1. Blockchain: The India Strategy, (Feb. 2020), NITI AAYOG, https://niti.gov.in/sites/default/files/2020-01/Blockchain_The_India_Strategy_Part_I.pdf.

2. Several States are not included to indicate absence of any regulations or initiatives taken by them to regulate or employ Blockchain Technology in their jurisdiction.

3. Note: This is not an exhaustive list of initiatives by different states in India.

4. Andhra government to adopt blockchain tech to end land record tampering, (Dec. 15, 2019), The New Indian Express, https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/andhra-pradesh/2019/dec/15/andhra-government-to-adopt-blockchain-tech-to-end-land-record-tampering-2076359.html .

5. NASSCOM and Avasant, NASSCOM Avasant India Blockchain Report 2019, (March, 2019), https://www.nasscom.in/knowledge-center/publications/nasscom-avasant-india-blockchain-report-2019 .

6. Sharanya Haridas, This Indian City is embracing Blockchain Technology-Here's why?, (March 5, 2018, 02:13 AM), Forbes, https://www.forbes.com/sites/outofasia/2018/03/05/this-indian-city-is-embracing-blockchain-technology-heres-why/#1ab1faa18f56.

7. Supra note 5.

8. NLUJAA-ILTES CENTRE FOR BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY AND LEGAL STUDIES, (April 29, 2020, 11:38 pm), http://nluassam.ac.in/nicblt/index.html.

9. Chhattisgarh: Blockchain for e-Governance Grand Challenge, (April 29, 2020, 12:33 pm), Chhattisgarh Infotech Promotion Society, https://www.chips.gov.in/chhattisgarh-blockchain-e-governance-grand-challenge.

10. Jane T., GovBlocks wins the Chhattisgarh "Blockchain for eGovernance Challenge, (April 29, 2020, 10:33 pm), https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/govblocks-wins-chhattisgarh-blockchain-egovernance-dr-jane-thomason/.

11. IANS, BSES Delhi Partners Australian Firm To Launch Blockchain-Based P2P Solar Electricity Trading Platform For Gated Societies, (November 14, 2019), SWARAJYA MAGAZINE, https://swarajyamag.com/insta/bses-delhi-partners-australian-firm-to-launch-blockchain-based-p2p-energy-trading-platform-for-gated-societies.

12. Dipen Pradhan, Blockchain This Week: West Bengal Districts To Use Blockchain For Issuing Birth Certificates, Chinese City Using It To Track Convicts On Parole, And More, (Sept. 12, 2018), INC42, https://inc42.com/buzz/blockchain-this-week-west-bengal-districts-to-use-blockchain-for-issuing-birth-certificates-chinese-city-using-it-to-track-convicts-on-parole-and-more/.

13. Bringing blockchain to India's power consumers, (April 3, 2020), SMART ENERGY INTERNATIONAL, https://www.smart-energy.com/industry-sectors/business-finance-regulation/bringing-blockchain-to-indias-power-consumers/.

14. Goa Startup Mission, https://startup.goa.gov.in/IBC. Also at, Nucleus Vision, Introducing the International Blockchain Congress in collaboration with NITI AAYOG, Indian State Government of Telangana Goa, https://medium.com/@NucleusVision/introducing-the-international-blockchain-congress-in-collaboration-with-the-indian-state-government-2e3f17c0e081 .

15. STPI launches Apiary, centre of excellence in Blockchain at its incubation centre in Gurgaon, (July 20, 2020, 7:54 AM), https://government.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/technology/stpi-launches-apiary-centre-of-excellence-in-blockchain-at-its-incubation-centre-in-gurugram/77048580.

16. Anirban Ghosal, How blockchain could help make Indian land records more reliable, (May 1, 2018), TECHCIRCLE.IN, https://www.techcircle.in/2018/05/01/how-blockchain-could-help-make-indian-land-records-more-reliable.

17. Jharkhand Startup Hackathon 2019, (April 29, 2020, 10:35 pm), Ministry of Commerce and Industry of India, https://www.startupindia.gov.in/content/sih/en/ams-application/challenge.html?applicationId=5cf0eae2e4b08f8b1a98a879.

18. Press Information Bureau, Government of India, Ministry of Electronics & IT, Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad to inaugurate 'Centre of Excellence in Blockchain Technology' in Bengaluru, (January 17, 2020), https://pib.gov.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=197477 .

19. Debasis Mohapatra, Karnataka set to unveil India's first platform for intellectual properties, (Dec. 1, 2018, 23:29 PM), Business Standard, https://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/karnataka-set-to-unveil-india-s-first-platform-for-intellectual-properties-118120100771_1.html.

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