To promote blockchain technology and related startups in India by offering them mentorship, funds,  intellectual property services, office space, and cutting-edge research facilities, Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) — an organization under the Ministry of Electronics and IT — on Friday launched Apiary, a Centre of Excellence (CoE) in blockchain technology in Gurugram.

The mission’s main objective is to promote and develop blockchain startups in India and use digital ledger systems over sectors like finance, healthcare, governance, and infrastructure. The CoE will not only assist companies in reaching out to angel, seed, and venture capital investors but also develop these businesses outside India.

 “A blockchain ecosystem has been around in India for three-four years, but there is no structure to it. This is what the CoE does. It brings in an entrepreneur, helps them through education and workshops, and even helps them with funding — all these, for a first-time entrepreneur, are very difficult to do,” said Pankaj Thakur in a statement, Chief Mentor of Apiary CoE and Founder of Padup, Apiary CoE, and PadupGurugram, India.

“Blockchain technology is the technology of the future. In my experience of working with blockchain startups, technology is not just an enabler — it’s a differentiator,” he added. Infrastructure-wise, the CoE’s headquarters in Gurugram, Haryana, is anticipated to house and profit more than 100 startups over five years. The Centre’s intention is also to set up a complete, all-rounded blockchain startup ecosystem. “Blockchain is a business of knowledge, and our aim is to bring in a lot of learning at the Centre and educate not only those who know about blockchain but also those who don’t,” Pankaj added.

India is still in very initial stages of producing a robust blockchain network; however, once it is more widely produced, a cross-section of industries will discover a lot of value in using it to maintain their data, and streamline their supply chain operations, among other things. Especially in governance where data storage and sharing are haphazard, localized, hard to recover on short notice, and open to easy manipulation, blockchain could assist in building a centralized repository and keeping all the data secure from being altered surreptitiously.

“Data in India is spread across multiple platforms and systems in India, which makes it hard to share, as well as access – but blockchain could simplify that,” said Saurabh Gaur in a statement, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Electronics and IT, New Delhi. NITI Aayog, earlier this year, issued a research paper listing the numerous ways blockchain technology can profit India.  “By empowering citizens through features of transparency, decentralization, and accountability, blockchain would help improve ease of living,” the think-tank wrote. Especially for India, where a lot of official work is still done offline and is not well-accessible, blockchain could enhance and stratify data access.

 “Governance in India faces unique challenges given the scale, diversity, and complexity of processes involved for delivery of varied public services. Blockchain offers unique possibilities of addressing issues relating to improving governance,” NITI Aayog’s Chief Executive Officer Amitabh Kant said in a statement.