In a milestone initiative to advance the digital infrastructure in the country, and with a view to increase the transparency of digital-based government functions, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology ("MeitY") of the Government of India launched the Vishvasya-Blockchain Technology Stack. This launch event, led by Mr. S. Krishnan, Secretary of MeitY, saw the introduction of the National Blockchain Framework ("NBF"), the NBLite, and Praamanik.
The NBF was launched by MeitY with the vision of promoting research and application development. This initiative aims to facilitate a state-of-the-art blockchain framework, that is reliable, transparent, and a secure form of digital service provided to citizens. The NBF technology stack, christened the Vishvasya-Blockchain Technology Stack, has been developed keeping in mind privacy, interoperability, and security. Vishvasya now offers functions such as distributed infrastructure, core framework functionality, and smart contracts. The NBF currently supports two permissioned blockchain platforms and has the capability to support any other extended platforms that may be developed. The NBF introduces this Blockchain-as-a-Service (BaaS) system through a geographically distributed infrastructure, designed to support various permissioned blockchain applications. Vishvasya BaaS addresses the challenges of blockchain adoption across various stakeholders, including infrastructure providers, smart contract developers and application developers. Some of the key features of Vishvasya Baas include, rapid end-to-end permissioned blockchain application development and deployment; ready to use security audited blockchain containers for production setup; blockchain specific security audit guidelines and best practices etc.
This event also saw the launch of NBFLite, an innovative lightweight blockchain sandbox platform that will cater to start-ups and educational institutions. NBFLite provides these institutions with a platform for rapid application prototyping, research, and capacity building. It offers a low cost and easily accessible environment for the carrying out of such research and experimentation. This platform opens up opportunity for start-ups and academic institutions to explore and develop in the blockchain space. This may have far-reaching benefits, allowing for the Indian ecosystem to become a hub of blockchain research and decentralized application development. The launch of NBFLite may be the stepping stone that was required to enable India's Web3 startup ecosystem, accelerating the growth of new projects, with minimal friction and financial obstacles.
In additional to the launch of NBFLite, an application was also unveiled at the said event. The application (Praamaanik) is a blockchain-enabled solution aimed at verifying the origin of mobile applications. This function has become increasingly essential in a digital economy, where users are often unaware of the integrity and origin of the applications that are being used by them. Ensuring app integrity and origin has hence become essential, especially in critical sectors like finance and healthcare. Praamaanik seeks to address these issues by offering developers a blockchain-based verification layer. The mobile apps are uploaded by designated representative of the organization and the unique details of the mobile app are recorded in the blockchain ledger. The users can identify the authentic mobile apps through the M-kavach 2 mobile security app. This verification will ensure that important information regarding the application is available for users. It will also increase transparency for regulatory bodies, user satisfaction and trust and create an environment where such applications may be easily monitored.
The efforts of MeitY, under the Government of India, are a clear indication of an evolving digital economy, which prioritises secure and transparent digital service delivery. The NBF will play a crucial role in ensuring that digital functions are secure, trustworthy and transparent for various citizen centric applications. As emphasised by Mr. S. Krishnan, blockchain technology holds the potential to transform digital governance in India by making public services more transparent, efficient, and accountable. A few sectors where blockchain technology improves the service offered to citizens are e-stamps solution, forensic applications, tracking of agricultural produce, and domicile certificate records.
As India positions itself to becoming a pioneer in blockchain technology space, these newly launched platforms offer a promising foundation for the growth and development of this field. With a combination of public-private collaboration, research focus, and a citizen-centric approach, India is looking to become a major player in the global blockchain conversations. The Vishvasya and NBFLite platforms stand for more than a token of growth of digital infrastructure, they represent the budding of a new, decentralized future, where trust, security, and transparency are the cornerstones of every digital transaction.
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