Can the new technologies such as blockchain be used for giving land titles to the poor? Discuss the potential of Blockchain towards better land governance and land reforms in India.

A blockchain is an online ledger that uses data structure to simplify transaction and allows users to manipulate the ledger in a secure way without the help of a third party.
Blockchain can be used for giving land titles to poor due to following factors

• Blockchain will allow the government to maintain a public ledger of asset-ownership in a distributed fashion without requiring intermediaries.
• Blockchain technology can be used to confer a unique cryptographic identifier to each land based on its geographic coordinates, ownership, and purpose of usage.

Advantages of using Blockchain technology in land governance and reforms

• It is decentralized thus erroneous data can be corrected and stores data in a nearly incorruptible form thus data cannot be manipulated which is a risk even in storage of data in digital form
• With a trustworthy asset ownership system, millions of people will move out of the anonymous mass of citizens and become individuals with property interests
• People who use goods and services and don’t pay for them will be identified and charged interest penalties
• Contract violations will be easily traced and legal infractions can be more easily prosecuted.
• Blockchain has the potential to end large-scale property-related litigation due to lack of authentic data.
• It will free the assets of the poorest Indians to create capital and enter the formal economy.
• It will also ease land leasing in rural areas leading to effective land utilization.

Challenges:

• Technology in itself is new and government may lack expertise in working with it.
• Recognizing the present owners of the lands is a huge task in itself.
• The Registration Act, 1908 that allows only ‘presumptive’ ownership also needs to be amended.

 Blockchain technology needs to be combined with other institutional and legal reforms, to clearly offer a feasible solution.