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Context:
- The potential of blockchain to bring about substantial economic transformation is the mirror image of the way the Internet revolutionised commerce, media and advertising in the previous decade.
Blockchain:
- Blockchain can be described as a way for people to share the extra space and computational power in their computers to create a global super-computer that is accessible to everyone.
Usage of blockchain:
- The blockchain lets people who are part of this super-computer perform functions such as verification of transactions and contracts, and the updating and maintenance of these records in the form of trustworthy ledgers, tasks that are normally reserved for established intermediary organisations such as banks and legal firms, and be rewarded for it.
- This core feature of the blockchain creates a space for trusted transactions in the digital space that have never been possible before.
- Blockchain technology could drastically cut down, or even eliminate, these transaction charges by replacing the intermediaries, thereby creating hundreds of billions, or even trillions, of yearly savings.
- Understanding this cost-saving potential, several international banks and state-owned banks in Russia, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have started working on blockchain-powered financial solutions.
Way ahead:
- Blockchain applications could be further extended to sectors such as insurance, law, real estate and digital art.
- It could be used to further strengthen our national institutions, including the judiciary and the Election Commission.
- India should effectively channel its technical human capital surplus to position itself as one of the pioneers during this upcoming wave of innovation.
