New Delhi: In a programme organised at the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India, S Krishnan, Secretary, MeitY, launched the Vishvasya-Blockchain Technology Stack to offer Blockchain-as-a-Service with a geographically distributed infrastructure designed to support various permissioned Blockchain-based applications.

Additionally, the Secretary, MeitY, also launched the NBFLite-Lightweight Blockchain Platform, Praamaanik – an innovative blockchain-enabled solution for verifying mobile app origin, and the National Blockchain Portal.

National Blockchain Framework to enhance digital trust and service delivery

MeitY, with the vision to create trusted digital platforms, initiated the National Blockchain Framework (NBF) to promote research and application development, facilitating state-of-the-art, transparent, secure, and trusted digital service delivery to citizens.

The National Blockchain Framework technology stack is designed with distributed infrastructure, core framework functionality, smart contracts and an API gateway, security, privacy, and interoperability, as well as applications development, offering Blockchain-as-a-Service (BaaS). The NBF currently supports two permissioned Blockchain platforms and is extensible. The Technology Stack is hosted on geographically distributed infrastructure at NIC Data Centres in Bhubaneswar, Pune, and Hyderabad.

Blockchain sandbox for startups and academia

NBFLite, a Blockchain sandbox platform, has been developed especially for startups and academia for rapid prototyping of applications, research, and capacity building. These technologies have been developed through the collaborative efforts of C-DAC, NIC, IDRBT Hyderabad, IIT Hyderabad, IIIT Hyderabad, and SETS Chennai under the support of MeitY.

National Blockchain Framework to boost security and transparency for citizens

During the launch, S Krishnan, Secretary, MeitY, expressed that as part of the Government of India’s efforts to provide trusted digital service delivery, the National Blockchain Framework will play a significant role in enabling security, trust, and transparency for various citizen-centric applications. He also emphasised that stakeholders should aim to position India as a global leader in blockchain technology and promote the developed solutions for global adoption, leveraging them to drive economic growth, social development, and digital empowerment.

Blockchain’s role in transforming governance

Bhuvnesh Kumar, Additional Secretary, MeitY, highlighted that Blockchain technology holds immense potential for transforming governance in India by making public services more transparent, efficient, and accountable. He stressed the need to scale applications on the NBF across various states and departments and suggested exploring the onboarding of new applications, platforms, and innovative components onto the NBF stack.

NBF’s goals for addressing challenges

Sunita Verma, Scientist G and Group Coordinator, R&D in Electronics & IT, MeitY, mentioned that the objective of the NBF is to develop an extensible framework with a Blockchain technology stack on distributed infrastructure to address challenges such as the need for skilled manpower in building Blockchain-based applications, vendor lock-in, and research challenges related to security, interoperability, performance, and other aspects.

Magesh E, Director General, C-DAC, mentioned that the NBF is a consortium-mode effort towards addressing research challenges and harnessing the benefits of the technology to develop applications in association with government organisations. Several patents and research publications have been generated as part of this initiative.

P R Lakshmi Eswari, Centre Head, C-DAC Hyderabad, briefed on the various technical features of the National Blockchain Framework and explained Praamaanik, the blockchain-enabled solution for verifying mobile app origin. /BI