PM distributes digital Bal Puraskar certificates developed by IITK startup

The certificates issued using the SSI-enabled blockchain driven technology are unforgeable, globally verifiable, selectively disclosable, and sensitive to user content.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi distributed digital certificates among 61 winners of Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar 2021 and 2022 using a blockchain and self-sovereign identity-driven technology developed by CRUBN, an IIT Kanpur incubated company, under the National Blockchain Project. 

The event was held virtually due to the COVID-19 situation in the country on the occasion of National Girl Child Day and also as part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav. The awardees and their parents and District Magistrate of their respective district joined the event from their district headquarters. 

Abhay Karandikar, Director, IIT Kanpur, said, “We are glad to be part of this historic moment where blockchain and self-sovereign identity are being used by the Ministry of Women and Child Development for the first time for digital certificates.” 

The digital certificates are stored on digital wallets installed on the mobile devices of the recipients. The certificates issued using the SSI-enabled blockchain driven technology are unforgeable, globally verifiable, selectively disclosable, and sensitive to user content.  

Earlier, IIT Kanpur became the first institute to launch digital degrees to 1,723 outgoing students using this in-house technology at its 54th Convocation. The degrees were launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as part of the 54th convocation of IIT Kanpur, on December 28, 2021, with just the click of a button. 

CRUBN was founded by four IITians, Nilesh Vasita (IIT Kanpur), Mukul Verma (IIT Bombay), Ras Dwivedi (IIT Kanpur) and Tanmay Yadav (IIT Kanpur), under the mentorship of Padma Shri Manindra Agrawal and Sandeep K Shukla, both joint coordinators of the National Blockchain Project under National Security Council Secretariat. 

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