The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has officially launched the Blockchain India Challenge, a national initiative aimed at accelerating the adoption of blockchain technology in digital governance and public service delivery.
The challenge was inaugurated on 23rd February, at MeitY headquarters in New Delhi by S. Krishnan, Secretary, MeitY, in the presence of senior officials from MeitY and Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), along with representatives from government departments and Indian startups.
Driving Blockchain Adoption in Government Services
Implemented by C-DAC with support from MeitY, the Blockchain India Challenge is designed to encourage Indian startups to build permissioned blockchain solutions tailored for government use cases.
The initiative emphasizes:
- Regulatory control
- High security and auditability
- Tamper-proof records
- Transparency and trust in public systems
The focus on permissioned blockchains aligns with government requirements around compliance, data sovereignty, and accountability.
Key Focus Areas
The challenge targets critical governance and service-delivery domains, including:
- E-procurement
- Supply chain management
- Public Distribution System (PDS)
- Education
- Healthcare
- Agriculture
- Power
- Internet of Things (IoT)
- Land records
- Environment & sustainability
Startups are also encouraged to propose innovative use cases beyond these ten areas, especially in collaboration with government departments.
Speaking at the launch, Shri S. Krishnan highlighted blockchain’s growing relevance in governance, stating that it enables verifiability and a single source of truth across multiple stakeholders, which can significantly enhance transparency and efficiency in government services.
He urged startups to explore high-impact, field-ready solutions and asked MeitY and C-DAC teams to:
- Expand startup participation
- Encourage scalable, real-world implementations
- Focus on solutions that can be deployed nationally
Startup Participation and Funding Support
Startups recognized by DPIIT will be eligible to participate in the challenge. Selected teams, working closely with government departments, will have the opportunity to convert ideas into deployable solutions.
What Selected Startups Get:
- Stage-wise funding support
- Opportunity to build 10 blockchain-based use cases across 10 categories
- Collaboration with central and state government departments
- Pathway to real-world deployment at a national scale
How to Participate
Eligible startups can submit proposals outlining innovative blockchain solutions for the identified governance domains. Full details regarding:
- Eligibility criteria
- Registration process
- Use cases
- Guidelines and timelines
- Intellectual Property Rights (IPR)
are available on the official challenge portal: challenge.cdac.in
The Blockchain India Challenge signals the government’s intent to:
- Strengthen trust in digital governance
- Reduce fraud and inefficiencies
- Promote homegrown deep-tech startups
- Build scalable, secure public digital infrastructure
As India pushes toward transparent, technology-led governance, blockchain is being positioned as a foundational technology in that journey.
