Maharashtra Government to roll out blockchain based projects to increase e-governance

Following the footsteps of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Telangana, the Maharashtra government will soon be rolling out block chain pilot projects pertaining to the state’s egovernance. The projects will be in the areas of land records, financial inclusion, supply chain financing, motor vehicle registration and goods and farm insurance.

The Finance Minister had signaled to roll out a red carpet for new technology which includes blockchain, AI and IoT. Various states like Telangana, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh have launched a number of initiatives to implement blockchain so as to increase transparency in egovernance. The finance minister mentioned that a distributed ledger system allows the organization to access chain of records or transactions without any need of intermediaries. The government will explore the use of the technology for ushering in the digital economy. The Principal Secretary of Maharashtra IT department, SVR Srinivas said that it is a positive sign to go ahead. They will now proceed with the proof of concept for a number of applications like asset transactions, farm insurance data and land records which will reduce cost and save time.

Earlier in the year, Karnataka government had organized a blockchain hackathon for Governance in order to explore the adoption of blockchain across government services. It was aimed at creating demonstrable prototypes by utilizing block chain in various government applications. There are a number of problems which can be better solved by using modern technology and tools. Karnataka has always been a leader in egovernance and they aim to bring the expertise of IT to resolve problems through latest technology.

The Government had also announced a blockchain conclave which will be organized to deliberate on issues that involves technology and will result in the publication of a white paper. Further, the Government of Andhra Pradesh has also signed an MOU with the Ram Yalamanchili family office management Covalent Fund as a step to encourage the block chain ecosystem of the country. This partnership is geared towards the development of an India focused Velugu blockchain stack under the Fintech Valley Vizag.

The collaboration between Andhra Pradesh government and the Covalent Fund is aimed at enhancing the startups’ access to capital and creating manpower. Apart from Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka, Kerala is also ready to set up a blockchain academy which will be one of the first in the country. Gujarat and various other states are also planning to join the race in order to ensure higher transparency in egovernance.