The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) launched the Blockchain India Challenge on 23 February 2026 in New Delhi, supported by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC). The event convened senior MeitY and C-DAC officials alongside representatives from government departments and startups. The national initiative seeks visionary startups to pilot permissioned blockchain solutions for public sector use. The challenge will emphasise interoperable, permissioned architectures suited to regulatory requirements. The challenge prioritises regulatory control and security, including trust, auditability and tamper proof records, and aims to address governance and service delivery challenges across sectors. Indicative domains include e-procurement, supply chain management, public distribution, education, healthcare, agriculture, power, Internet of Things (IoT), land records, and environment and sustainability. The list is illustrative rather than exhaustive, allowing startups to propose additional impactful use cases in collaboration with government departments. MeitY instructed teams to expand outreach across the startup community to develop field ready, deployable solutions that can scale nationwide. The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) will recognise eligible startups, which in collaboration with government departments will have opportunities to translate ideas into high impact solutions. Selected startups will receive stage-wise funding support to develop 10 blockchain-based use cases across 10 categories for government departments. Startups are invited to register on the official challenge website for details on eligibility, intellectual property rights and guidelines. Guidance on collaboration mechanisms will be provided to shortlisted teams. C-DAC will implement the challenge with support from MeitY and coordinate engagements with government departments and the startup ecosystem. Interested teams are encouraged to sign up promptly to receive updates and engagement opportunities through the challenge portal. MeitY expects the initiative to produce field ready and deployable pilots that address public service challenges and can be scaled across India. Updates will follow.