Trajectory of Blockchain Technology in India: From Use Cases to Data Protection Regime

Abstract

In the internet era, blockchain is ubiquitous. It is the most superior technology which has paved its way in every possible field around, providing the most innovative way of storing and communicating information along with the execution of transactions in a trusted environment. This notion of ‘trust’ in blockchain technology has rendered it to be the centre of discussion for developers, trying to ensure privacy and data protection of the users’ data. India has an evident history of questions relating to the security and privacy of data, thus it is necessary to study this technological breakthrough in Indian reference. This paper is majorly bifurcated into two parts, first part seeks to analyze the basic understanding of the technology along with its development in India through the Indian government's initiatives to adopt the same in terms of use-cases of blockchain in various sectors with particular reference to the legal domain, and its efficacy in India. The second part of the paper unfolds the two-way relationship of privacy and blockchain facilitating each other, viz-a-viz, the extent to which the Indian data protection regime or say the IT laws in India correspond with blockchain technology with particular reference to the new data protection bill, 2019.

Keywords: Blockchain Technology, Data Protection, Privacy, Blockchain use-cases, Blockchain in India