NKDA starts to use Blockchain technology for preparing birth certificates

Kolkata: New Town Kolkata Development Authority (NKDA) has started the use of Blockchain technology for preparation of birth certificates. The official inauguration of the emerging technology was done by state Information Technology and Electronics (IT&E) minister Amit Mitra at Biswa Bangla Convention Centre, the venue for the two-day Global Blockchain Congress.

"There is a hashtag which needs to be used for maintaining records through Blockchain and it cannot be tampered by any means. So, once you make the entries and the certificate is ready there can be no manipulation and this makes it 100 percent secured," a senior official of the IT&E department said.

The birth certificate that was issued for the first time by NKDA through Blockchain is that of a child who was born at a private woman and childcare hospital based in New Town. "We are trying to harness Blockchain in a manner so that it can be used for the benefit of common man. We are holding this international level knowledge sharing event with this purpose in mind," Mitra said. According to Mitra, the technology can be used for the purpose of preparation of data bank in the field of healthcare, traffic management, keeping land records and health screening of school children.

The minister maintained the ideal sowing season can also be predicted by Blockchain in an accurate manner which can be of great benefit for the farmers. "We are mulling to use this technology in these areas which will be of direct benefit to common man and for this we are holding the workshop," he added. Experts from the UK, Brazil, the US and Belgium deliberated on the use of Blockchain and its practical uses at the two-day event that concluded on Wednesday.

It may be mentioned that the IT&E department has identified Blockchain technology can be harnessed in maintaining transparency in crowdfunding management of any project. The first live application in the country on project-based crowdfunding management on Blockchain was created by Webel under the aegis of the IT&E department. The solution leveraged the technology to ensure that every transaction made by the donor is not only secured through the art of complex cryptography but also is completely transparent and immutable.