India, over the past few years, has been going through a major tech revolution. The country has been adapting newer technologies in various sectors ranging from education, healthcare and civic services to even political campaigns. The state of Andhra Pradesh has been a leader in emerging technologies. State capital Hyderabad is home to Google and Facebook’s India Headquarters. Following the success of Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh’s largest city Visakhapatnam (popularly known as Vizag) is all set to become the country’s ‘Blockchain Hub’.
This announcement comes days after the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi claimed that technologies such as blockchain systems can help bring about a major change in the country’s tech infrastructure. Modi emphasized on the need of ‘rapid adaptation’ of this technology. Chief Minister of the state of Andhra Pradesh, Chandrababu Naidu has been hailed as a patron of technology and has helped Hyderabad develop into the tech hub it today is.
As per reports from Forbes, Naidu now aims to convert Vizag into a blockchain hub with the ‘FinTech Valley’ project. FinTech Valley Vizag has now collaborated with Covalent Fund to develop Velugu Core, an Indian-focused blockchain stack. With the help of this, all the government data can be easily accessed using APIs, which will enable interested developers to create applications based on this information.
Auditing firm KPMG has also been roped in to develop a repository program for the FinTech Valley Vizag project. KPMG will help create programs which solve problems in the BFSI Sector (Banking, Finance, Securities and Investments) using blockchain based solutions. The project has gained over $900 Million in investment contributions and aims at converting the city into a hub for blockchain entrepreneurs and organizations not just from India, but from around the world!
The Indian government has not been as enthusiastic about cryptocurrencies but they have been very open to the blockchain technology. “The government will explore the use of blockchain technology proactively for ushering in the digital economy,” the Indian Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said in a recent statement. It isn’t just the Indian government, but governments across the world have a similar stance when it comes to blockchain technologies. In a recent example of government using blockchain technologies, the Indian government will soon be offering educational degrees to students which will be based on a blockchain system - making sure they are permanent and tamper-proof.
Governments around the world are implementing blockchain systems for official purposes. The government of Canada too, introduced a blockchain system which will keep a track of fundings and grants to educational organizations.
The state of Andhra Pradesh also intends to make use of blockchain technology for securing land related data - which is one of the most common causes of disputes in India. 66% of all civil cases in India are land related and the use of blockchain technology could help solve this problem to a great deal. The state of Andhra Pradesh has teamed up with India-based blockchain startup, Zebi Data, to secure over 100,000 land records. Another partner, Swedish-based ChromaWay, will also assist in providing land registry solutions.