Blockchain technology in India

What is the issue?

In India high-level committee deliberations are said to be in support of encouraging the use of block chain technology.

What is Blockchain?

• Blockchain is the basis of bitcoins, it is a digital public ledger that records every transaction.
• Once a transaction is entered in the blockchain, it cannot be erased or modified.
• Blockchain removes the need for using a trusted third party such as a bank to make a transaction by directly connecting the customers and suppliers.
• Each transaction is recorded to the ledger after verification by the network participants, mainly a chain of computers, called nodes.

What is the status of blockchain technology in India?

• In India Financial players are the first movers to capitalise on this technology.
• It is witnessing a lot of traction within India, in sectors such as banking and insurance.
• In most of these industries, players are coming together to form a consortium to realise the benefits of blockchain at an industry level.
• The Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology (IDRBT), an arm of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), is developing a model platform for this technology.

What are the avenues of block chain?

• Bitcoin is just one of the applications for the technology, whose use is being tested across industries.
• It is an advantage, when there is a lot of data that is shared across multiple parties with no trust mechanism among the participants.
• Non-financial players like retail, travel, health care, telecom and public sector industries are also working on this technology.

Source: The Hindu