The government of Maharashtra, the home of Indian capital Mumbai, will soon roll out five to six blockchain pilot projects pertaining to the state’s e-governance.
Maharashtra is a state in the western region of India. It is India’s second-most populous state and third-largest state by area. It is also the world’s second-most populous subnational entity. It has over 112 million inhabitants and its capital, Mumbai, has a population of approximately 18 million. Maharashtra is the wealthiest state by all major economic parameters and also the most industrialized state in India.
India’s finance minister Arun Jaitley recently said “blockchain technology allows the organization of any chain of records or transactions without the need of intermediaries. The government will explore the use of blockchain technology proactively for ushering in the digital economy.”
SVR Srinivas, the principal secretary at the state IT department, said the finance minister’s statement is a positive sign and that the state will now proceed with the proof of concept for various applications. The projects would be in the areas of financial inclusion, land records, supply-chain financing, goods and farm insurance and motor vehicle registration.
SVR Srinivas added that they are looking to work with startups to implement blockchain use cases. The goal is to cut down manual processes and duplicate paperworks.
“We can use blockchain technology in all the processes where one needs to go through past transactions,” Srinivas said. “It will bring down redundant labour. The Maharashtra government will conduct a study to determine the quantum of investments. The savings will be much more than the investments.”
In addition to Maharashtra, a number of Indian states has been eyeing the potential of blockchain in good governance. Andhra Pradesh is the first Indian state to run pilot projects on blockchain, putting up land records on a public ledger.