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Divit Biyani, one month old, became the first child born in India to obtain a birth certificate based on blockchain. The West Bengal state had announced at the beginning of this year that they would soon begin issuing blockchain-based birth certificates – and the first such case has now occurred.
Varun Biyani, the father of Divit, received the birth certificate of his son at the start of this week from the New Town Kolkata Development Authority (NDKA). This birth certificate was also shown during the two-day event of the Global Blockchain Congress, which was held in Kolkata on December 18th and 19th, an initiative of the State Information Technology & Electronics Department.
"I am pleased that the government is implementing new technologies like this to protect information and prevent manual manipulation," said Varun. This was made possible as Bankura Municipal Corporation and Durgapur Municipal Corporation allied with a Dutch startup, Lynked.World. The blockchain company has contributed to the development of an app that allows these municipal companies to issue birth certificates based on blockchain.
During the Global Blockchain Congress event, Debashish Sen, the president of NKDA, said that blockchain-based birth certificates are much safer as they are immune to cyber attacks and can not be changed, thanks to multiple levels encryption.
Moreover, with birth certificates now published on a blockchain platform, things have become much easier for those looking for a birth certificate for their child. In the past, you would have to go through more layers of paperwork and do a lot of paperwork before issuing a certificate. However, it is now a much quicker and simpler process. Amit Mitra, the Minister of Information Technology and Electronics of the West Bengal state commented on this, saying:
"We are trying to exploit Blockchain so that it can be used for the benefit of the common man." We hold this international knowledge sharing event for this purpose in mind. "
A senior official from the Ministry of Information Technology and Electronics commented, saying:
"There is a hashtag that must be used to store records through Blockchain and can not be tampered with in any way, so once the entries are done and the certificate is ready, there can be no manipulation and this makes it 100% sure. "
India Blockchain Push
While India has not really been open to cryptocurrencies, the country has been quite enthusiastic about blockchain technology. The Indian prime minister has praised the technology in the past and broke an "internal joke" on the startup blockchain. The government worked to use blockchain technology for various purposes – such as issuing diplomas, cracking on fake drugs – and issuing subsidies to farmers.
With the first birth certificate based on blockchain that was released, it would be interesting to see if other states would adapt and start implementing similar technologies. India is also planning to use blockchain technology for land records. Stay tuned with us on Cryptoground for further updates and news from the world of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology.
