Over the past several years, “blockchain technology” has probably come up in conversation with cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. You may even be curious about the definition of blockchain technology.
There doesn’t seem to be a clear definition of blockchain that the uninitiated can grasp, therefore it looks to be a platitude only in the hypothetical sense. It is important to understand what blockchain technology is and how it is fast becoming essential in the digital sphere.
Blockchain has evolved from being only a Bitcoin platform created by Satoshi Nakamoto in 2009 to a promising creative backbone that delivers enormous value to organisations in a variety of industries.
The Indian government intends to create national blockchain frameworks as a centralised ecosystem for close to 44 industries, including pharma, education, farming, energy, financial investment, e-governance, and more, blockchain technology.
As the government has created a broad list of potential applications to ensure secure and flawless delivery of its services to the population, e-governance will be given priority among these. In this article, we’re going to see blockchain more closely and its scope in India.
Blockchain Technology – An Overview
Blockchain is a technique for storing data that makes it difficult or impossible for the system to be altered, hacked, or otherwise manipulated. A distributed ledger, it distributes and copies transactions throughout the network of computers involved.
Blockchain technology is a framework for storing public transactional records (sometimes referred to as “blocks”) across multiple databases (called “chains”) in a network connected by peer-to-peer nodes. This type of storage is frequently referred to as a “digital ledger.”
Every transaction in this ledger is validated and protected against fraud by the owner’s digital signature, which also serves to authenticate the transaction. As a result, the data in the digital ledger is quite safe.
To put it simply, the digital ledger can be described as a network of computers sharing a Google spreadsheet where transactional data are kept according to actual purchases. The intriguing aspect is that while everyone may view the data, it cannot be altered.
Blockchain in India – A history
In 2008, Satoshi Nakamoto, whose true identity is still a mystery, originally proposed the idea of blockchains. Nakamoto used a technique similar to Hashcash as the architecture continued to advance and change.
It ultimately evolved as the core of Bitcoin, a well-known cryptocurrency that acts as a public record for all network transactions. All of the network’s transactions and data were stored in the Bitcoin blockchain files, which increased in size over time. It had 20 gigabytes in August 2014, and by the beginning of 2020, it had exceeded 200 gigabytes.
Around 2009, Bitcoin became the first cryptocurrency to be used in India. In 2010, there was the first business transaction, and in 2013 there was the first cryptocurrency exchange. In India, it has gained a sizable fan base and a lot of interest recently. According to industry estimates, India is home to 15 to 20 million cryptocurrency investors, who collectively control assets worth roughly 41 thousand crore rupees ($5.37 billion).
The rise in popularity of cryptocurrencies has been attributed to a number of factors, including the fact that India is leading the world in terms of internet adoption growth, the country’s booming tech sector, and the tech-savvy millennial generation (who represent the ideal consumer segment for cryptocurrencies).
In recent years, a number of blockchain-based games have appeared. Massive transaction volumes on peer-to-peer (P2P) systems are another factor in the rise of cryptocurrencies.
They can also be moved across countries without going through any intermediary entities. It goes without saying that the majority of people view them as an alternative investment possibility to more established ones like the stock market and mutual funds, with potential for future value growth.
What does the future of blockchain look like in India?
Blockchain technology is going to revolutionise business, governance, and personal life in the next few years, and every blockchain development company wants a piece of the action.
A Gartner analysis claims that blockchain technology will be the foundation of new, creative firms, and that the value of organisations developed using this cutting-edge technology will be in billions of dollars.
According to the forecast, blockchain will add company value worth over $176 billion by 2025, and $3.1 trillion by 2030. These figures demonstrate the enormous potential of blockchain technology in India.
The transfer of land records, automated customs enforcement and compliance, public service delivery, digital certificate management, e-sign solution, vehicle registrations, pharmaceutical supply chains, charitable donations, agricultural supply chains, smart grid management, e-notary services, and other areas also hold enormous potential for the use of blockchain technology in India and for blockchain development organisations.
Due to the inherent benefits of blockchain technology, tampering with any of the aforementioned services will be nearly impossible, sustaining the accountability of e-governance. Blockchain technology can effortlessly incorporate pre-existing apps like DigiLocker, ePramaan, and eSign in addition to the current infrastructure and services.
Additionally, this means that various government agencies won’t need to launch independent efforts to integrate blockchain technology because these activities will now be connected at a common level, igniting the flame for the subsequent wave of IT changes.
The objectives and methods for attaining them have been outlined in the proposed government policy initiative for integrating blockchain technology.
Therefore, in the future, India’s embrace of blockchain technology is poised to take it to a completely new level and help it move up significantly in global rankings.
Applications and use cases
Applications for blockchain go well beyond cryptocurrencies. The technology is affecting many different industries in ways that range from how contracts are enforced to making the government run more effectively. It can increase openness and justice while also saving businesses time and money.
The applications and use cases for this pragmatic yet revolutionary technology are listed below:
Blockchain Applications in Healthcare
Blockchain in healthcare is still in the early stages of adoption, but it already shows some potential. Early blockchain solutions have shown the ability to lower healthcare costs, increase stakeholder access to information, and simplify business processes.
To ensure that an already bloated business lowers extravagant expenses, medical healthcare providers may need an enhanced ecosystem for gathering and sharing private information. The Estonian X-Road solution, which links multiple information systems for diverse services, serves as an illustration.
In the healthcare industry, a blockchain network is used to store and share patient data amongst hospitals, diagnostic centres, pharmacies, physicians, and nurses. The performance, security, and transparency of sharing medical data in the healthcare industry can all be improved by using blockchain technologies.
Blockchain Applications in Media
Data privacy, royalty payments, and intellectual property infringement are major media problems. Deloitte’s analysis indicates that extensive content sharing and copyright violations have resulted from the digitalization of media. Media blockchain technologies, according to Deloitte, can provide the industry a much-needed facelift in terms of data rights, piracy, and royalty payments.
The media industry can prevent a digital asset, like an mp3 file, from being duplicated in many places thanks to media blockchain applications. With the ability to be shared and distributed while maintaining ownership, piracy is practically unheard of thanks to the transparent blockchain ledger technology.
Furthermore, media blockchain solutions preserve data integrity, enabling marketing departments to target the relevant consumer segments and musicians to be paid appropriately for their original compositions.
Blockchain Applications in Retail and E-commerce
The Ethereum virtual machine, which gives eCommerce firms a platform to manage their blockchains, is the most popular blockchain technology being used in e-commerce. Customers can make purchases using a cryptocurrency on websites and applications that support it.
Blockchain applications are advantageous for both businesses and customers since they increase the security of online financial transactions. It also provides the added benefits of lowering expenses, enhancing business operations, speeding up transactions, and enhancing the overall consumer experience.
Retail blockchain applications’ immutability ensures that manufacturers cannot replace your purchase with less costly goods when you make a purchase and shops cannot attempt to upsell you on a different, more expensive product.
Blockchain Applications in Cross-border Payments
The world’s first cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, served as the inspiration for the emergence of money transfer apps. Blockchain solutions for cross-border payments are proving to be very popular in the fintech industry due to the lower rates and increased speed they may provide for both new firms and consumers.
For instance, money transfer blockchain applications can save the biggest banks $8–12 billion annually by decreasing third-party costs, streamlining bureaucratic red tape, and creating digital ledger systems in real-time.
Blockchain Applications in Internet of Things
New IoT blockchain applications are ideally suited for the Internet of Things (IoT). Millions of applications on IoT devices are vulnerable to security and hacking issues.
As there are more IoT items available, there is more potential for hackers to steal your data or use internet passwords or other sensitive information to defraud or scam you.
Applications for the Internet of Things (IoT) that use blockchain technology will increase security by preventing data breaches by utilising the technology’s transparency and theoretical incorruptibility.
Conclusion
The most well-known product created by blockchain technology is Bitcoin, a cryptocurrency that serves as a public ledger for all network transactions. It has increased security by resolving the issue of unauthorised and double spending. It also aids in removing the requirement for a middleman specialist.
The Blockchain technology aids in drawing in a wide audience because there has recently been a significant rise in cyberattacks.
The use of various types of technology in our daily lives will experience an unprecedented rise as time goes on since technology is the future. India is one country that has accepted and plans to continue using blockchain technology in a variety of industries.