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Blockchain-based Government Services

component of the electronic health record (EHR) using blockchain technology at

Global Smart Cities Forum 2020 (ETGovernment, 2020).

The e-governance department of Karnataka introduced a State Scholarship Portal

(SSP) to simplify the scholarship application process offered by different depart­

ments and added blockchain-based storage and security. This blockchain-based solu­

tion provides an improved experience as it makes the verification process instant and

paperless. It improves transparency when documents are stored using cryptographic

hashing and timestamping, creating an immutable blockchain record with a unique

private key (Chandrashekhar, 2017; Government of Karnataka, 2019).

8.4  CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE IN BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY

The National Informatics Centre (NIC) and the Ministry of Electronics & Information

Technology (MeitY) set up the Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Blockchain Technology

in the city of Bengaluru of Karnataka state to promote blockchain and its application

in January 2020.

1. The centre aims to deliver blockchain as a service (BaaS) and allow all

stakeholders to benefit from learning, experience and resources.

2. It will work with global experts to guide the development and implementation

of new blockchain solutions from conceptual evidence to manufacturing.

3. The centre has developed PoCs like Blood Bank Management System,

Public Distribution System, Land Record Management System, etc., some

of which are being piloted or will be shortly (CoE in blockchain technology,

2020). These PoCs are discussed in the following.

8.4.1  Blood Bank Management System

Safe access to blood and blood components is essential for a variety of critical hos­

pital care procedures. Any contaminated blood used in the transfusion can lead to

several health complications for the blood recipient.

8.4.1.1  Current Process

The end-to-end process from blood collection to transfusion is depicted in

Figure 8.1.

FIGURE 8.1  Blood donation process. (From Centre of Excellence in Blockchain

Technology, Blockchain for Government. Retrieved 7 April 2020 from https://blockchain​.gov​.

in​/Whitepaper​_30jan​.pdf)