The India Blockchain Alliance was established with the purpose of mutual assistance in the field of business development, networking, cooperation, and a joint approach to defending the interests of the members of the alliance. It also seeks to raise awareness of the importance of blockchain technology among the professional and lay public, and, therefore, organizes various events and training courses. It also cooperates with government authorities in the field of relevant legislation. In an exclusive interview with BitcoinWorld,
The India Blockchain Alliance would shed the light on how they help blockchain businesses in India,
This interview was conducted over emails and this is what the founders have to say about The India Blockchain Alliance.
Question 1: Give a few reasons why you believe India Blockchain Alliance is the appropriate sector to represent companies and business professionals involved in the blockchain-based digital economy.
India Blockchain Alliance was founded on the premise that blockchains have the potential to transform many aspects of India’s financial, social, and governance systems in ways that make them more decentralized, open, and equitable. Such transformations, however, will affect all countries’ men, and it’s important to ensure that all classes of stakeholders (private, public regulatory, academic, and more) are connected in open conversations about how to use this science to benefit Indians and build India as a leader in blockchain technology. IBA was established with the purpose of mutual assistance in the field of business development, networking, cooperation, and a joint approach to defending the interests of the members of the alliance. It also seeks to raise awareness of the importance of blockchain technology among the professional and lay public, and, therefore, organizes various events and training courses. It also cooperates with government authorities in the field of relevant legislation. It is now a key player in the process of creating a setting that will transform India into a global blockchain destination. The members work harmoniously and in unison for the benefit of the individual and collective business development of the blockchain domain. Established in 2018, The India Blockchain Alliance is the most influential voice in the blockchain industry. It is a not-for-profit organization that promotes the evidence-based adoption of Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLT) across the public and private sectors. Our alliance is drawn from the worlds of Blockchain, Academia, Information Technology, Computer Science, regulators, and policymakers in the field of distributed ledger technologies. IBA is a close-knit network of experts and organizations connecting policymakers, academics, blockchain engineers, venture capitalists, and visionaries. The depth of expertise led from the front by Mr. Raj Kapoor, who has now been in the blockchain domain for over 12 years is unparalleled as IBA now focuses on matters of national interest including (but not limited to) Policy, frameworks, taxation, compliance, and standards).
Question 2: Tell the readers what inspired you to begin this journey and some of the difficulties you encountered as this project grew.
Blockchain is multi-dimensional. In the earlier days blockchain was synonymous with bitcoin, which of course is not true. Whoever we spoke with in 2017-18, asked us only one question – should we invest in bitcoin? No one asked us about the technology – no one cared. Lack of awareness, an absence of real-world use cases, and uncertainty vis-vis jobs in the space were early obstacles. This inspired us to set forth on a quest to make blockchain relevant, and bring it to the mainstream we set up IBA in 2018 to bridge this chasm and we have not looked back. We want to make India the Nalanda for blockchain. We pollinated this thought with some Universities and set up Centres of Excellence on their premises offering students courses, certifications, Hands-on training, projects, research, internships, and career guidance. We have now over 200 such centers pan India.
Question3: How have you influenced governments and businesses to utilize blockchain technology responsibly?
Several. We have advised and implemented multiple projects, not just for the Indian Government but also for the Governments of Nigeria, Malawi, South Africa, Jamaica, Georgia, Philippines, and Indonesia. Most projects center around making governance transparent, trustworthy, and efficient. Projects include Document Flow Management Platforms, Blockchain Based Notarisation, Immutable Voting Solutions Digital Identity, Asset registration, Asset tracking, Digital land, and vehicle registry Digital currency, Digital voting, and Food distribution. Document Credentialing, Supply Chain, Medical Records, and Drug Provenance platforms amongst a host of others.
Question 4: What financial benefits will participation in the India Blockchain Alliance provide to an individual or business?
Information is everywhere. All have access to it. But IBA comes in with insights – and that can only be possible with hands-on expertise – a commodity in abundance at IBA. As an IBA member, we provide our partners with industry and country insights, assistance in developing value-creating strategies, market potential assessment competitive benchmarking, regulatory environment assessment, business planning, and marketing strategy. Besides this, we create an overall business strategy and roadmap for our partners, formulate the India vision, and help them with key meets and connects in the institutional, enterprise, and Government ecosystems. Helping them partner with other organizations to create intrinsic value, and business development including due diligence, partner credibility, payment behavior, litigation, market reputation, capability assessment, etc. are also a part of the IBA value add. In brief, we bring in ecosystems and efficiency for our partners and bring them laser-focused insights to establish India’s strategy and market perpetration.
Question 5: How many partners does IBA currently have? How can someone apply to become a partner?
Presently we have 397 partners (international and national). Partners are selected via an initial Discovery Round and evaluated for alignment, vision, and ecosystem value. To apply partners may go to our web page and apply for the same through our partner page.
Question 6: Give a brief explanation of your organization’s financial sources and any difficulties you have had in this position.
IBA is a not-for-profit and is completely bootstrapped. To date, we have never had any difficulties.
Closing remarks
We aspire to see an India that leads the world in the adoption of blockchain technology that has transformed the economy and society to achieve significantly greater competitiveness, efficiency, service quality, social engagement, and employment and aim to encourage the responsible adoption of blockchain technology by industry and governments across India as a means to drive innovation in service delivery across all sectors of the economy.
Our biggest impact is on the way how blockchain is growing and maturing from a concept to technology and turning into a thriving industry. With extensive studies cutting across all possible touchpoints of blockchain in contemporary technology and business landscapes, IBA has been working on designing the value chain of the nascent industry that blockchain is becoming. Our standards and credentials seek to create a new area of discernable impacts to build a pool of blockchain professionals who can work across a plethora of emerging and established blockchain platforms. Today we are proud to say that IBA is at the pinnacle of blockchain leadership in India and the largest think tank in Asia!
