Experts feel that block chain technology will be a game changer in the near future and is likely to be adopted by banks and government departments in the near future. The technology which is seeing large scale traction abroad is expected to make huge inroads in India too. A panel of experts felt that the technology may facilitate distributive computing in a big way. The panel of experts was discussing the trends in block chain technology on the sidelines of a technology summit in Bengaluru.
A block chain is a growing list of records, called blocks, which are linked and secured using cryptography and the records on a block chain cannot be altered or changed and remains permanent. Hence it can used very effectively in cases where sharing of data bases or data records is concerned, such as user information or land record information by the government. Broadly, it can work as an open ledger that can record transaction between two parties and can be verified easily but cannot be changed.
Sudin Baraokar, Head of Innovation at the State Bank of India, remarked that the SBI got together different banks to create an ecosystem on the block chain technology. During the course they prioritised 8-10 block chain solutions and turned two out of them into products. “Block chain is a very innovative technology and can also help, for instance, in maintaining Jan Dhan accounts. Apparently, it had cost the SBI around Rs 800 crores to maintain these accounts. We had couple of hackathons around this technology and will be bringing out products such as eKYC and also smart contracts based on block chain technology by next year,” said Baraokar.
Krupesh Bhat the founder of the legal start up Legaldesk, felt that many state governments such as Karnataka and Telangana have come forward to develop the proof of concept on this technology in the field of property registration and land records. He said that this can also be very effectively used in addressing insurance claims. “In the United States it has already been adopted by a few state governments. Through eKYC this technology will enable the customers to give their details only once to the bank and a customer will need not require to give this information again and again to the bank. This technology can also help solve issues in property disputes and will bring in transparency in land agreements,” said Bhat.
Some panelists also felt that more clarity is required in terms of this technology since Bitcoin is the only major application that has emerged out of the technology as of now. More clarity on how this technology will bring transparency in land records and agreements and other applications need to be accentuated.
