India Blockchain Alliance (IBA) calls itself a not-for-profit organisation, working on bringing together blockchain developers, firms, venture capitalists, and visionaries together in India.
IBA founded in the year 2018, the body aims to further the research and development work around blockchain, also call as the Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT), which makes for the base foundation for the Web3 sector.
India, despite its sceptical approach towards welcoming digital assets like cryptocurrencies and NFTs into its financial ecosystem, has time and again show its interest in exploring the underlaying technology of these assets, that is blockchain.
IBA Founder and Chairman, Raj Kapoor said that the organisation, in its initial phase, offer education and awareness programmes around the blockchain technology.
In the last six years, Raj Kapoor said, the organisation has manage to amass nearly 800 members which include blockchain-focus investors, companies, and projects with 300 colleges and universities.
Role of IBA Playing in India’s Blockchain Ecosystem
Earlier in May 2024, the IBA met with its community members to discuss ways to make blockchain a stronger part of the #TechForGood movement, that align with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The organisation, during the meeting said it is working with international research partners to chalk out how blockchain can be put to use to bring more transparency and data security layer in the sectors of e-governance, supply chain, carbon registries, and healthcare.
Raj Kapoor said :
“India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has been at the forefront of these efforts, promoting the use of blockchain in government services and exploring its applications in areas like land records, supply chain management, and digital identities,”
“We too, are putting in the maximum efforts to establish a regulatory framework for oversight on blockchain’s use cases.”
IBA operates an initiative call as the ‘Web3 Village’ where stakeholders of the national and international blockchain ecosystems converge to share blockchain resources.
Without disclosing elaborate details, Raj Kapoor said that the IBA has submit white papers and policy recommendation to the authorities on topics like anti-money laundering, banking, decentralise finance, environment, NFTs, sanctions, securities, spot markets, stablecoins, and taxation.
Raj Kapoor said :
“We are working endlessly to incorporate blockchain technology into educational curricula at universities and technical institutions to develop a skilled workforce. Offer training programs and certifications for professionals are also tailored to enhance their knowledge and skills in blockchain technology,”.
“We are working to implement blockchain in various government services to showcase its potential and build public trust. Examples include using blockchain for land registry, identity management, supply chain transparency, and public records.”
Projects Under IBA
IBA has initiate two ‘ambition projects’, the Green Chain Protocol and the Carbon Chain Initiative.
By these, the body plans to establish India as an early developer and adopter of clean and green blockchain.
The Green Chain initiative focuses on using green blockchains in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) sectors.
The Carbon Chain initiative is aim at identifying blockchain projects that align with UN’s vision to slow down environmental damage.
Raj Kapoor said :
“Green Chain seeks to showcase and flourish Web3 projects in the ESG field. Our Carbon Chain initiative leverages the use of blockchain technology to track and verify carbon emissions. It is design to create a decentralise, tamper-proof, and transparent ledger that accurately records the carbon footprint of different entities, including individuals, corporations, and governments,”.
IBA claims to be taking India’s vision for blockchain internationally and are also expanding presence in India’s Bengaluru, Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) and Maharashtra.
