Blockchain technology– the word is stirring the financial sector of the word lately!
A concept which has become so popular by now, that people are trying to implement its benefits in identity, world trade, real estate, smart appliances & whatnot.
We have already discussed the prospects of blockchain & its current use in the world, in one of our blogs, a few months ago. In case you haven’t read it, we will link it down below.
USE OF BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY IN PRESENT AND FUTURE
But today, obviously we are talking about blockchain technology, but we are focusing on India specifically.
Recently, India is making some impressive advancements in technology & is gradually embracing this technology!
Recently, according to Blockchain Report 2019 by NASSCOM, the adoption of blockchain technology in India is experiencing rapid growth and investments in blockchain-based projects have touched over $20 billion across various industries.
So it is high time we talk about our country’s take on this fascinating technology!
But before that, for those of you are unaware, let’s understand what blockchain technology is.
What is Blockchain Technology?
The Blockchain is an encrypted, distributed database that records data. In other words, it is a digital ledger of any transactions, contracts – that needs to be independently recorded.
Think of a situation.
Imagine that you are in a group chat having a conversation with say 20 friends.
Now, each time any member sends a message a new record of data gets created. The message is time-stamped, tamper-resistant and is accessible to everyone in that definite chat group.
A blockchain is basically a chain of blocks, and more precisely digital information about a transaction, in this case, a message, stored in a public database, here the chat group.
Now, these data of money is managed by a combination of computers or cellphones, instead of a single entity.
One of the most amazing features of this technology is that digital ledger is accessible through thousands of computer systems but is compelled to be kept in a single place.
So basically, if you are transferring money through blockchain, it can be easily done without any interference from a third party.
What are the advantages of Blockchain Technology?
Many industries are getting significant benefits from blockchain technology, some of them are:
More transparency
Because blockchain technology uses a distributed ledger, the data is more accurate, consistent & transparent when pushed through the paper-heavy process.
Improved Security
The information here stored across a network of computers instead of on a single server makes it very difficult for hackers to compromise the transaction data.
Enhanced efficiency
By automated process of blockchain, all the transactions can be done faster & more efficiently.
Cost reduction
In blockchain, you don’t need as many third parties. You just have to trust the data on the blockchain which will inevitably reduce the cost of trade completion.
How India is adopting Blockchain Technology?
Currently, India ranks 6th in the world for blockchain patent approvals, clearly indicating that there is a strong interest here.
NITI Aayog
Union government policy think-tank, NITI Aayog hosted an International Blockchain Congress in 2018, the biggest blockchain conference in Asia. It was alongside the state governments of Telangana and Goa, bringing in ideas about blockchain adoption to India.
Banks of India
In 2018, the Reserve Bank of India set up a unit of individuals to research and supervise new technologies around blockchain app development.
This evaluation was carried out in partnership with MonetaGo, a New York-based cryptocurrency firm, domestic banks and other financial institutions.
Eventually, banks like SBI, Axis, HDFC, & ICICI are implementing blockchain for their KYC and trade finance procedures.
Life Insurance Companies
Do you know that inherent inefficiency in the claim management system leads up to Rs.10,000 crores per year, in the Insurance Industry?
Imagine what a great benefit will blockchain be to mitigate these issues?
Due to this, Cognizant has partnered with insurance providers such as ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, SBI Life Insurance, HDFC Life, Kotak Life and more to develop a secure data-sharing solution built on Corda blockchain platform.
TCS
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has recently partnered up with Microsoft and R3 (an enterprise blockchain software firm), to advocate the adoption of blockchain across industries.
They are said to build five platforms of Blockchain Technology, which will include track and trace, digital identity, asset monetization, assets in common, and tokenization.
What are the challenges of Blockchain development in India?
While India is & has a tremendous prospect of developing blockchain, there are various issues faced by the developers, due to which the country is still in its infancy stage.
- There is a massive lack of regulation and compliance. Once the Indian government implements the clearly defined regulation on blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technology, their adoption will become faster.
- The awareness is an important factor. Due to the technology still being considered new and the fact that there is a lack of awareness about it means that many potential vendors are not at the adoption point yet.
- In most public blockchain-based applications, it is still not clear who incurs the cost of network maintenance as well as validation of transactions.
- Indian tax and RBI authorities don’t have a favorable opinion about cryptocurrencies. Unless this hate affair of Indian authorities ends with cryptocurrencies and ICOs, startup initiated blockchain projects can’t be executed.
What are the prospects available in India in terms of Blockchain Technology?
According to a London-based blockchain consulting firm, Dappros currently India stands at second position in the count of Blockchain Developers (with nearly 19,627 developers), second to the US with 44,979 Blockchain Developers, in the world.
With the almost 20,000 blockchain developers situated in India, the country can become a leader where the blockchain is concerned.
India has a huge population, there is a rise in data, especially in Government offices. With this growth, there is a threat of cyber attacks, corruption. Also, the issue of illegal immigration; undeclared income and property are some of the hazards that have spread their roots intricately in the system, everything can be taken care of with this single technology.
Hurdles are inevitable. To welcome such a massive technology we need to keep an open mind, trust technology & educate the people.
Want some implement Blockchain Technology in your business?
Contact us at Skyram Technologies. Our expert set of developers will guide you through everything in order to execute the technology.
Also, for our other blog on blockchain, read here!
