In a step aligned with India’s Digital Public Infrastructure vision, a new push is being made to encourage secure and scalable blockchain adoption across governance systems.
Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology announced a national-level initiative titled “Blockchain India Challenge” on Tuesday to promote the use of blockchain technology across multiple sectors. The initiative aims to support the development of indigenous blockchain solutions by identifying high-impact use cases and building applications that are scalable, secure, and interoperable.
The ministry said the challenge is designed to encourage Indian startups to pitch and pilot blockchain-based digital governance solutions. The focus will be on permissioned blockchain systems that ensure regulatory control, security, trust, auditability, and tamper-proof record keeping for government use cases.
The initiative targets key sectors such as e-procurement, supply chain management, public distribution systems, education, healthcare, agriculture, power, Internet of Things (IoT), land records, and environment and sustainability. The ministry clarified that these sectors are illustrative and not exhaustive. Startups are encouraged to propose blockchain use cases in other sectors as well, in collaboration with relevant government departments.
The importance of building solutions that can scale at a national level and strengthen the startup ecosystem was also highlighted as a core objective of the programme.
Eligibility and funding support
According to the ministry, the challenge is open to Indian startups recognised by Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade and working on blockchain solutions relevant to government use cases. Participating startups will be required to work closely with government departments to develop deployable solutions.
Selected startups will receive stage-wise funding across 3 phases:
- Prototype stage: ₹1.5 lakh each for up to 40 participants
- Minimum viable product stage: ₹4 lakh each for up to 30 participants
- Deployment stage: ₹10 lakh each for up to 20 participants
In addition, winners in each of the 10 identified use case categories will receive ₹50 lakh each. The total prize pool stands at ₹8.80 crore.
Application process
Eligible startups can apply by registering on the official challenge portal at https://challenge.cdac.in. Applicants must submit details of their proposed solution, its relevance to government use cases, technical architecture, and deployment plan.
The portal also provides information on eligibility, registration steps, use cases, guidelines, intellectual property rights, and related terms and conditions.
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