India continues to leverage blockchain, and the pharmaceutical sector is the latest to deploy the technology. India’s government e-marketplace (GeM) is mulling embracing blockchain technology by running a pilot project to distribute vaccines, medicines.
The use of distributed ledger technology (DLT) keeps growing at a quick pace in India, as GeM is contemplating experimenting with the new technology by launching a trial project for 372 GI-registered (geographical indication) items, according to a recent article by Mint.
Notably, the move aims to ensure the supply of vaccines and medications on the GeM platform. The platform’s implementation of blockchain technology will assist in mitigating counterfeiting and enabling the tracking of prescribed standards throughout the product’s production chain.
Prashant Kumar Singh, GeM’s chief executive officer, commented on the development:
“There is a lot of counterfeiting in GI products. We buy a Pashmina shawl based on what the shopkeeper says. We don’t have the wherewithal to verify it.”
“We are using blockchain technology for GI products where we have end-to-end visibility, which will include the manufacturer, clearing and forwarding (C&F) agents, any of the agencies certifying the quality of the product, GeM, and recipient of the product,” he added.
Singh went on to say that the usage of DLT will aid in detecting and determining if the medications and vaccines were maintained at the proper temperatures throughout their supply chain travels.
Specifically, by inserting a tiny IoT (Internet of Things) device that displays the temperature of the product every 10 seconds, all stakeholders in the product would know for certain if the temperature requirement had been satisfied throughout the trip.
India’s Adoption of Blockchain Technology
Singh went on to say that blockchain is no longer a “recent technology,” but is already widely used across the country. Indeed, the rate of DLT adoption in India has been rapidly increasing in recent years.
Last month, the Maharashtra State Board of Skill Development (MSBSD) began using LegitDoc, an Ethereum blockchain-powered system built by Bangalore-based tech firm Crossforge Solutions Pvt Ltd, to issue digital diploma certificates last month. The blockchain system creates and validates digital documents.
Earlier this month, it was also disclosed that the Indian government is allegedly working on a blockchain-powered validation framework that may aid in the streamlining of the document submission process to multiple authorities.
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