A convocation ceremony was held on December 28 at IIT Kanpur. The 54th ceremony saw the Prime Minister launch digital degrees based on blockchain technology.

The institute produced digital degrees for students using a blockchain-based system developed under the National Blockchain Project, a technology developed in-house by the institute.

The PM then spoke at the convocation, saying technology has a bright future and prestigious institutes like IIT Kanpur are giving us priceless gifts.

The prime minister said, “Today is a day of double happiness for Kanpur. On one hand, Kanpur is getting a metro rail facility and on other hand, the world of technology is also getting priceless gifts from IIT Kanpur."

For those who are unaware, blockchain is a shared ledger that duplicates and extends across the entire network of computers on the blockchain. The Prime Minister issued 21 digital degrees with a single click to 1723 students across India using blockchain technology

By digitizing the student records and making them accessible remotely, blockchain technology can simplify the tedious task of maintaining student records.

Blockchain records and stores information with an exact timestamp. Tampering with a transcript is very difficult. A new block can only be added to the previous one, so prior entries can't be altered.

Using blockchain technology, teachers are also able to set lessons and course tasks into a blockchain, such as programming the tasks to be completed when certain conditions are met.

Additionally, the same technology can be used to grade students: the blockchain's algorithm takes into account questions and answers, as well as scoring parameters.

The digital degree gives information about the student regarding the courses he or she was enrolled in, the institute where the course was completed, and the year in which the course was completed. This makes IIT Kanpur the only institute in the country to issue digital degrees using blockchain technology.

Pavan A

CBW - External Analyst

INDIA