The Indian state of West Bengal is all set to try out a new first in the country: issuing birth certificates over a blockchain system. This initiative is being tried out by two local governments in the state in a partnership with Lynked World, a Netherlands-based app development company. The governments hope that with the help of blockchain technology, the process would become more streamlined in terms of handling administrative operations.
Getting a birth certificate, or any legal identity document, issued in India is often a complex task as one has to go through various levels of bureaucracy and a lot of identity verification and paperwork is required. However, with the help of blockchain technology, the governments aim to make it much easier to apply for birth certificates, as well as when it comes to verifying the submitted identity documents.
The two local governments that are testing out this technology are the Bankura Municipal Corporation and the Durgapur Municipal Corporation. Reports from CCN indicate that the process is almost finalized and may get into action as early as September. Chief Executive Officer of Lynked World, Arun Kumar expects over a million birth certificates to be stored over a blockchain-based platform before the end of the year!
Arun Kumar further stated that the existing systems are quite ‘cumbersome’ and there still are citizens lining up in front of ‘agents’ who help them get access to various basic services. However, by implementing blockchain technology, the process would become simpler and much easier. Kumar stated:
“These Birth and other certificates would be digitally authenticated by issuing authorities (municipalities) and that authentication will be stored on blockchain which facilitates verification of these documents by any third party organization to whom owners provide access.
Basically Blockchain would be used to write the hash value of certificate together with owner of certificate and who issued it for the authentication and verification.”
Citizens would be able to apply for applications with the help of the LYNK token, which would be the native token of the platform. Lynked World particularly specializes in the domain of identity verification. Their application provides a cryptocurrency wallet, as well as the ability to secure and store documents such as passports, medical records, academic degrees, and driver’s licenses over a blockchain platform.
Blockchain-based identity verification programs have been getting popular across various nations such as the US and Australia. China too has embraced the blockchain technology well and is using it for the purpose of auditing, as well as for powering their smart cities such as Xiangon.
India has been showing a particularly keen interest in blockchain technology. The country is working towards numerous projects - such as issuing farmer subsidies over a blockchain network, issuing degree certificates over blockchain, and a crackdown on counterfeit drugs as well. India’s lead think-tank, NITI Aayog is working on implementing several of these changes. Efforts are also being made towards developing the city of Visakhapatnam into ‘the blockchain hub of India’.