In a bid to go completely paperless and keep board results secure and tamper-proof, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has introduced ‘Blockchain’ technology.
To create the ‘Academic (Blockchain) Documents’ software, CBSE collaborated with the Centre of Excellence for Blockchain Technology of National Informatics Centre under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).
What is blockchain?
Blockchain is a shared, immutable ledger that facilitates recording transactions and tracking assets in a business network.
An investment can be tangible (a house, car, cash, land) or intangible (intellectual property, patents, copyrights, branding).
Virtually anything of value can be tracked and traded on a blockchain network, reducing risk and cutting costs for all involved.
Business runs on information, and the faster it’s received and the more accurate it is, the better.
Blockchain is ideal for delivering that information because it provides immediate, shared, and utterly transparent information stored on an immutable ledger that can get accessed only by permission network members.
A blockchain network can track orders, payments, accounts, production, and much more.
And because members share a single view of the truth, you can see all details of a transaction end to end, giving you greater confidence, as well as new efficiencies and opportunities.
Critical elements of a blockchain
1) Distributed ledger technology- All network participants have access to the distributed ledger and its immutable record of transactions.
With this shared ledger, transactions get recorded only once, eliminating the duplication of effort typical of traditional business networks.
2) Immutable records- No participant can change or tamper with a transaction after it’s gotten recorded to the shared ledger.
If a transaction record includes an error, a new transaction must get added to reverse the mistake, and both transactions are then visible.
3) Smart contracts- To speed transactions, a set of rules — called a smart contract — is stored on the blockchain and executed automatically.
A smart contract can define conditions for corporate bond transfers, include terms for travel insurance to get paid and much more.
Benefits of blockchain
1) Greater trust-With blockchain, as a member of a members-only network, you can rest assured that you are receiving accurate and timely data and that your confidential blockchain records will get shared only with network members to whom you have expressly granted access.
2) Greater Security-Consensus on data accuracy is required from all network members, and all validated transactions are immutable because they get recorded permanently.
No one, not even a system administrator, can delete a transaction.
3) More efficiencies- With a distributed ledger shared among network members, time-wasting record reconciliations get eliminated.
And to speed transactions, a set of rules — called a smart contract can be stored on the blockchain and executed automatically.
