MeitY Launches Blockchain India Challenge to Enhance Public Sector Efficiency

• India’s Ministry of Electronics and IT launches the Blockchain India Challenge.
• As the challenge encourages startups to develop scalable, field-ready blockchain applications in multiple sectors 

India moves ahead in its blockchain adoption as the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) has launched the Blockchain India Challenge to promote innovative blockchain solutions for improving government services across key sectors.

According to the press release published on February 24, the Blockchain India Challenge was unveiled by S. Krishnan IAS, Secretary, MeitY, on 23rd February at New Delhi, with various senior officials from MeitY and Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC). As other startups and other government officials were also there during the event.

The press release mentioned, “The Blockchain India Challenge is a national initiative aimed at encouraging visionary Indian startups to pitch & pilot cutting-edge Blockchain-based digital governance solutions.” Which is implemented by C-DAC with the support of MeitY.

The program majorly focussed on creating permissioned blockchain systems that put regulatory control, security, and trust first for government applications. With that, it also aims to address important governance and service delivery issues in a variety of industries, including public distribution, e-procurement, supply chain management, education, healthcare, agriculture, power, IoT, land records, and ecological sustainability. 

Startups to Pilot Blockchain in Key Sectors

As per the press release, the listed sectors are just examples, and startups are encouraged to propose blockchain solutions in other areas as well, provided they collaborate with the relevant government departments. 

Further, the Secretary MeitY discussed how blockchain technology could improve the effectiveness, transparency, and verifiability of government services. He urged the MeitY and C-DAC teams to actively promote the Blockchain India Challenge among startups so that more teams participate, and the goal is to develop practical, ready-to-use blockchain solutions for government departments that can eventually be expanded and used across India.

In addition, the press release noted that DPIIT-recognized companies collaborating with government agencies will be eligible for stage-wise financing support as part of the challenge framework. The program’s goal is to assist the creation of ten significant blockchain-based solutions for ten distinct governance categories.

Parliament Debates Blockchain Use 

The Blockchain India Challenge was introduced at the same time that the Parliament began to examine blockchain more and more. Punjabi MP Raghav Chadha demanded earlier this month for a National Blockchain Property Register for land and property records, also to legalise Virtual Digital Assets with clear regulations during a Rajya Sabha discussion on the Union Budget for 2026–2027.