Blockchain for Governance: STPI Hosts Workshop to Advance Public Sector Innovation

Chandigarh: The Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) Apiary Centre of Entrepreneurship successfully concluded its flagship “Blockchain for Governance 2025” workshop in Chandigarh, marking a significant stride in accelerating blockchain adoption in the public sector. The event saw participation from over 120 key stakeholders, including senior government officials, technocrats, academics, and startup leaders.

Organized by STPI Apiary’s Blockchain Centre of Entrepreneurship, the Blockchain for Governance workshop served as a platform to foster dialogue and collaboration around the integration of blockchain in governance models, particularly in the state of Haryana. Delegates explored how blockchain can bring transparency, efficiency, and trust to public administration.

Addressing the Blockchain for Governance workshop gathering, senior Haryana government officials including D. Suresh (Principal Secretary, Industries & Commerce), Rajiv Ranjan (Principal Secretary, Labour), and Dr. Rahul Narwal (Director & Special Secretary, IT) reiterated the state’s readiness to embrace blockchain as a tool for administrative reform. Ashok Gupta, Director, STPI Gurugram and CEO, STPI Apiary CoE, stressed the importance of moving beyond legacy systems and adopting blockchain for scalable and secure digital transformation.

Technical deep dives were delivered by Prof. Subodh Sharma from IIT Delhi and Dr. Ras Dwivedi from IIT Kanpur, who explained blockchain architecture and shared successful governance implementations. A session on blockchain evaluation frameworks led by IDS leaders, Aravind Voruganti and Dayal Mukati, helped stakeholders understand criteria for deploying blockchain across health, finance, and public services.

Special sessions featured state-led success stories including Telangana’s blockchain-powered land record systems, shared by Rama Devi Lanka (Director, Emerging Tech), and Karnataka’s university credential verification system, presented by S. Jayanthi, DDG, NIC Karnataka. These case studies highlighted blockchain’s transformative role in reducing fraud, enhancing transparency, and ensuring data integrity.

STPI Apiary’s leadership team, including Chief Mentor Pankaj Thakkar, Padup Ventures Co-Founder Rajat Jain, and COO Chetan Sharma, emphasized the urgency of initiating departmental PoCs and cross-agency sandbox environments to accelerate adoption.

Blockchain for Governance Workshop

The workshop concluded with a collective vision to position Haryana as a blockchain-first governance model by leveraging state policy, startup ecosystem collaboration, and cutting-edge technology. STPI Apiary continues to serve as a national hub for blockchain innovation, bridging government, startups, and academia through incubation, research, and implementation frameworks.