Indian State Of Telangana Releases Draft Blockchain Policy

By Sumedha Bose

The Indian state of Telangana has finally taken a decisive step towards its commitment to adopt blockchain technology. The Telangana Government has released its draft Blockchain policy as reported by national media publication, The Hindu. The policy is likely to be finalised and implemented in a month.

This is a big step for the state and the nation as a whole, because once finalized, it would make the State of Telangana the first in the country to have its own Blockchain policy. This could be an exemplary move that will likely inspire other states to follow suit.

The policy outlines a comprehensive strategy for the creation of a Blockchain District in the city, which would push Hyderabad to become one of the top 10 ‘Blockchain Cities’ of the world. The city plans to host projects from all over the world and act as a state of the art incubator and research and development facility.

The city plans to welcome big blockchain businesses and encourage them to steer the technology towards latest innovation. This policy envisages the development of a pool of resources and talent and also advocates greater knowledge sharing vis-a-vis the Telangana Academy for Skill and Knowledge, which would be delivering blockchain courses to students.

The policy would explicitly provide clarity for banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI), pharma and healthcare, logistics and supply chain and public sector. All of these industries could benefit greatly from the incorporation of blockchain technology.

Jayesh Ranjan, Principal Secretary to ITE and C Department said:

“The policy will be finalised in about a month after we get feedback. We have called for, and have been receiving good feedback, from industry leaders and experts.”

A training and certification agency in the State for re-skilling and up-skilling of the workforce is also in the pipeline, contingent on a collaboration between the government and the industry. The city would house office space for startups working on blockchain, which would receive special subsidised rates.