Blockchain startups perk up after govt unveils national framework

livemint.com:

New Delhi: Startups and entrepreneurs working on blockchain applications and products appear to have perked up, after more than two years of subdued enthusiasm for web-3 technologies. This much-needed booster for India’s blockchain upstarts has come in the form of the National Blockchain Framework, unveiled on Wednesday by information technology secretary S.

Krishnan. Called ‘Vishvasya’, or ‘trust’ in Sanskrit, the framework seeks to establish what the Centre called “trust and transparency" in public records and databases.

A note by the ministry of electronics and information technology (Meity) on the Framework said that the Centre’s blockchain will use three data centres across India to store data, and offer companies infrastructure and application development support to help more entities adopt the technology. Web-3 is the decentralised version of the internet that is built on blockchain technology, and gives users greater control over their data.

Targeted applications and industries for India’s central blockchain framework include court stamps and judicial records, police training files, forensic applications, tracing sources of mobile applications, establishing the authenticity of central government-issued documents, and tracking of agricultural produce. Industry stakeholders and officials involved in the entire process have welcomed the move, stating that adoption of blockchain by the Centre will help build enterprise interest, offer struggling startups with a market enabled by the government itself, and in the long run, create a market where companies end up with better understanding of blockchain’s purpose.