The Department of Information Technology, Government of Bihar, organised a workshop on blockchain for government applications for senior Government officials and dignitaries on 4 June 2022 at Ashoka Hall, Hotel Maurya, Patna.
Govt. of Bihar IAS, principal secretary, Dept. of IT, Santosh Kumar Mall, in his address to the audience said, “Technology has been playing a pivotal role in empowering governance in the modern era. Blockchain Technology could reduce government redundancy, streamline processes, decrease audit burden, increase security, and ensure data integrity.” He further added that blockchain will enable the government body to drive eGovernance with optimum efficiency.
Govt. of Bihar, IAS, Development Commissioner, Vivek Kumar Singh graced the occasion as chief guest. The Workshop commenced with the customary lighting of the lamp by chief guest along with the dignitaries on the dais that is, Santosh Kumar Mall, IAS, principal secretary Dept. of IT, GoB, Arvind Kumar Choudhary, principal secretary, Labour Resource Department, B Rajendar, IAS, principal secretary, Ravi Manubhai Parmar, IAS, principal secretary, Minor Water Resources Department, Arvind Kumar Choudhary, special secretary, Dept. of IT, GoB, Aditya Kumar Sinha, director C-DAC Patna, and Laksmi Eswari P R, Director, C-DAC Hyderabad.
IAS Pankaj Kumar, Principal Secretary, Backward Cast and Extremely Backward Cast Welfare Department, Jitendra Srivastava, IAS, Secretary Home Dept., Sanjay Agrawal, IAS, Secretary, Water Resources Dept., Safeena, IAS, principal secretary Minority Welfare, Sandeep K Pudakalkatti, IAS, secretary, Labour Resources Dept., H R Srinivasa, IAS, chief electoral officer, Bihar, Sushri Ranjita, IAS, Labour commissioner were also present on the occasion.
Bihar development commissioner Viivek Kumar Singh, Bihar emphasised on importance of the blockchain technology. He further added that different verticals in the Government can benefit out of this technology. The implementation of this technology will result in improved efficiency and transparency.
Blockchain experts Kunal Abhishek, Mahesh Patil, Aditya Kumar Sinha, director C-DAC and Gokul Alex, Lead SME on Blockchain shared their enriched knowledge and discussed benefits of Blockchain with the attendees.
The Department of Information Technology, Government of Bihar, invited senior officials from all the important departments of Bihar Government. The attendees of the workshop represented co-operative Dept., Beltron, General Administration Dept., Finance dept., SC ST welfare dept., KPMG, BPSC, Rural works dept., Planning and Development dept., PHED, Transport Dept., IPRD, Art Culture and Youth Dept., Sugarcane Dept., Animal Husbandry dept., UIDAI, board of revenue, Energy Dept., Bihar Mahadalit Vikas Mssion, Social Welfare Dept., Labour Resources Dept., Agriculture Dept., Minority Welfare Dept., Panchayati Raj, Bihar state Tourism Development Corporation ltd., Commercial tax dept., Law Dept., Home Dept., IG Training with Bihar Police, Building Construction Dept. to name a few.
The experts elaborated that Blockchain technology is an immutable public digital ledger, which means that when a transaction is recorded, it cannot be modified and due to the encryption feature, the blockchain is always secure. Transactions are done instantly and transparently, as the ledger is updated automatically. Since it is a decentralised system, no intermediary fees are required and the authenticity of transactions is verified and confirmed by the participants. It is certain that in specific applications, blockchain can ease government processes, streamline processes, reduce audit burdens, increase security, and ensure data integrity.
The successful applications of Blockchain in government services were also told by the expert speakers. In the field of e-governance, the government can reduce the service time period, as well as establish the authenticity of the certificates, by using blockchain technology in land registries, transport licenses, educational certificates, public service certificates and so on.
The vote of thanks was given by Arvind Kumar Choudhary, ITS, Special Secretary, Dept. of IT, GoB. He expressed his gratitude to the chief guest, Blockchain experts from C-DAC and all esteemed participants from various Departments of Bihar Government. He further added, “This workshop will prove to be very helpful for various government departments and blockchain will be a very useful tool for future ready eGovernance.”
