Block Chain in Government Services

  

BLOCKCHAIN in Government Services 

Blockchain technology is a distributed database structure that stores transactional records, also known as the block, of the public in several databases, known as the “chain,” in a network connected through peer-to-peer nodes. Typically, this storage is referred to as a ‘digital ledger. Blockchains offer the following advantages:

Greater Transparency: Blockchain’s greatest characteristic stems from the fact that its transaction ledger for public addresses are open to viewing.
 Increased Efficiency: Due to its decentralized nature, Blockchain removes the need for middlemen in many processes
Better Security: Every transaction in this ledger is authorized by the digital signature of the owner, which authenticates the transaction and safeguards it from tampering. Hence, the information the digital ledger contains is highly secure 
Improved Traceability: With the blockchain ledger, each time exchange of goods is recorded on a Blockchain, an audit trail is present to trace where the goods came from.

                                         

There are many different types of blockchains.

• Public blockchains: Public blockchains, such as Bitcoin, are large distributed networks that are run through a native token. They’re open for anyone to participate at any level and have open-source code that their community maintains.
• Permissioned blockchains: Permissioned blockchains, such as Ripple (Money Transfer), control roles that individuals can play within the network. They’re still large and distributed systems that use a native token. Their core code may or may not be open source.
• Private blockchains: Private blockchains tend to be smaller and do not utilize a token. Their membership is closely controlled. These types of blockchains are favoured by consortiums that have trusted members and trade confidential information.

Benefits of using block chain in government services are:

1.  Building Trust with Citizens: A key feature of blockchain-based solutions is transparency through decentralization, allowing participating parties to see and verify data. A blockchain solution for some citizen services could allow for independent verification of governmental claims. For example, European governments are already experimenting with blockchain-based land registries, enabling multiple parties to securely hold copies of the registry. This model could help quickly resolve property disputes or prevent them altogether. When citizens and governments share access to records, potential for distrust decreases.
2. Protecting Sensitive Data: Breaches of personal data have become a fact of life in today’s digital world. The full names, Social Security numbers, birthdates, addresses, and driver's license numbers of 143 million Americans were exposed in the 2017 Equifax database breach in US. Block Chain data structures harden network security by reducing single-point-of-failure risk and can make attempting a breach prohibitively challenging.
3. Reducing Costs & Improving Efficiency: Block Chain can be used along with Automation using smart contracts / algorithms. It provides traceability of all historical transactions. It improves the Speed and efficiency of transactions by eliminating intermediaries.