Tech Mahindra inks pact with Telangana for Blockchain

HYDERABAD: The Telangana State Information Technology, Electronics and Communication department (ITE&C) today signed an MoU with Tech Mahindra to launch Indias first Blockchain district here.

"It will be a centre of excellence, an incubator and process development for the emerging technology with innovative infrastructure and facilities to foster growth of Indian blockchain start-ups and companies," said C P Gurnani, CEO and Managing Director of Tech Mahindra at the International Blockchain Congress 2018 here.

Tech Mahindra as a founding member of the blockchain district will provide the platform and technology assistance to all the incubators in it, he said.

Tech Mahindra will also empower accelerators to develop and solve market problems across its global customer ecosystem.

Further, the Telangana ITE&C Department will provide regulatory and policy support to enable and promote Blockchain growth both in India and globally, Gurnani said.

The launch of the Blockchain district is a moment in history, he said, adding it would be a global talent hub which can unlock the value of blockchain technology in democratising data and solving big scale world problems.

"It is also a huge step in reskilling and right skilling the workforce of the future.

Blockchain experts will be our crowning jewels as together we work towards making India the blockchain capital of the world," he added.

It will provide an opportunity for the blockchain ecosystem in India to collaborate and work towards building a blockchain district in Telangana and transforming India as the blockchain capital of the world, he said.

Tech Mahindra also announced a strategic partnership with Nucleus Vision (NV), Indias biggest blockchain company, at the IBC.

According to the partnership, Tech Mahindra will provide the technology expertise to broaden Nucleus Visions business reach and will leverage its telecom affiliates to promote the offering at a global level.

This strategic partnership marks the beginning of Nucleus Vision's global expansion strategy and Tech Mahindra's foray into the blockchain market, TechM said in a statement.

Tech Mahindra and the Eleven01 foundation also announced the launch of 'Eleven01', a multi-year blockchain initiative that aims to foster an ecosystem for blockchain startups.

The Eleven01 foundation is a blockchain conglomerate that provides services across the blockchain ecosystem and has partnered with Tech Mahindra for technology innovation to create the Eleven01 Protocol - an emerging market centric blockchain protocol which serves as a foundation for decentralised applications, said Rama Iyer, India CEO of the Foundation.

Key partnerships for the Eleven01 foundation include Tech Mahindra, Nucleus Vision, ICRISAT, Telangana Government and T-Hub, among others.