Indian State Government’s ‘Blockchain District’ Now Has a Dedicated Accelerator for Blockchain Startups

The Indian state of Telangana has launched a blockchain accelerator in its recently created Blockchain District, in collaboration with Tech Mahindra. Selected startups will pitch innovative ideas and get mentored by experts from the Telangana government, Tech Mahindra, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology’s Centre for Development of Advanced Computing, and IIIT Hyderabad.

Also read: India Unveils National Blockchain Strategy, Calling on RBI to Issue Digital Currency

State Government Launches Blockchain Accelerator

The government of the southern Indian state of Telangana has launched a blockchain accelerator in partnership with Tech Mahindra and IBC Media. The “T-Block Accelerator” is the inaugural accelerator program for the newly created Telangana Blockchain District. IBC Media, an innovation management company, will run the accelerator. The Hindu Business Line reported:

About 25 startups would be inducted for the accelerator programme. Of these, five will be selected for the next phase of mentorship.

According to the Telangana government’s website, the four-month accelerator program is aimed at startups with a strong blockchain use case. “It is a program that takes seed and validation level startups with strong business and blockchain use cases and gets them to an investible stage,” the website describes. “Selected startups will have an opportunity to pitch innovative ideas and get mentored by experts from the government of Telangana, Tech Mahindra, C-DAC [Centre for Development of Advanced Computing] and IIIT Hyderabad.”

The registrations for the T-Block Accelerator opened on Monday with a one-week boot camp, followed by a four-week intensive training program. “The startups will receive mentorship and guidance from leading experts in the startup and blockchain space. The programme includes workshops, presentations and discussions,” said Rajesh Dhuddu, Tech Mahindra’s Blockchain Global Practice Leader. He was further quoted as saying:

The T-Block Accelerator aims to bridge this gap and take seed and validation level startups with strong business and blockchain use cases.

Telangana Government’s Blockchain District

The Telangana state government signed an agreement with Tech Mahindra in 2018 to develop a blockchain district ecosystem. Dhuddu remarked, “Our partnership with the Telangana government for the Blockchain District stems from our desire to build a world-class support infrastructure for blockchain startups.”

Jayesh Ranjan, the principal secretary of the Telangana government’s ITE&C Department, detailed: “Blockchain District provides a platform which enables the stakeholders to collaborate, co-create and build solutions in blockchain technology, which today is at a nascent stage, but has enormous potential in the coming years.” He was quoted by the Express News Service on Wednesday as saying:

Telangana is committed to its vision of positioning Hyderabad as one of the leading blockchain cities in the world. We are happy to set in motion the first edition of the T-Block Accelerator program.

Last week, the Indian National Institute for Smart Government published a draft “National Strategy on Blockchain.” The institute was tasked with preparing the policy by the National e-Governance Division, under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY). Then this week, Niti Aayog, the Indian government’s policy think tank, published a strategy document identifying several key areas where India could benefit from blockchain technology.

What do you think of the Telangana government’s blockchain accelerator and its Blockchain District? Let us know in the comments section below.

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Images courtesy of Shutterstock and the Telangana government.

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