Tripura Introduces Blockchain-Based Beneficiary Management System To Secure Data

The Tripura government has started using blockchain technology to secure the data on the state’s beneficiary management system.

The state government has teamed up with the NIC Blockchain Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru for this and is using the latter’s APIs.

The APIs will allow the state government to store state beneficiary data sets on the blockchain, safeguarding the records and avoiding data manipulation. Tripura is using the blockchain-based beneficiary management system to secure scheme-wise approved beneficiary lists, approved transaction requests, and scheme-wise details of successful transactions.

The move is in line with the state government’s mission to promote ‘Digital Tripura’. It has also introduced schemes such as the IT/ITeS Startup Scheme, Data Centre Policy, ITeS Policy and IT incentive scheme as part of its digital push.

In a statement, Dr Naresh Babu, director of IT in the Tripura government, said he is keen on exploring blockchain for issuing government-to-business certificates such as licences.

He also expressed interest in exploring the Web3 Sandbox offered by the India Blockchain Forum to build and test use cases aimed at citizen and public services and enabling startups to build innovative use cases. 

Rising Use Of Blockchain

Tripura has joined a growing list of Indian states and government agencies using blockchain initiatives across use cases such as e-governance, healthtech, agritech, fintech, edtech and more.

States such as Telangana, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu have introduced several initiatives, including initiatives for blockchain property registration, Web3 regulatory sandbox and blockchain policies.

In December 2021, the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) published the National Strategy on Blockchain, a 52-page document on the government’s plan to adopt blockchain. MeitY also introduced a five-year plan to implement blockchain across several industries under the National Blockchain Framework (NBF).

According to a joint report by Deloitte and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI), there are multiple use cases for the blockchain in the public domain. Some of these use cases include health records, digital certificates, land registries, voting, smart contracts and academic certificates.

Last year, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman called the blockchain technology imperative but also flagged anonymity as a risk. Earlier, Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das called for global regulations for blockchain as it transcends boundaries.