The government of Andhra Pradesh has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with U.S.-based blockchain startup ConsenSys to boost the state’s blockchain ecosystem, CIO reported.

The objective is to incubate an innovation ecosystem for blockchain in Andhra Pradesh, the Indian state which has been spearheading blockchain initiatives in the country. Under the MoU, ConsenSys will provide strategic technical advisory to prioritise and pilot blockchain use-cases in the areas such as land titling, supply chain, identity platform, and electronic health records, among others.

“The Government of Andhra Pradesh has taken a lead in the country by incorporating Fintech including cybertech, Artificial intelligence, analytics and especially Blockchain as its key strategy for FY18. We believe that Blockchain technology has tremendous potential to revolutionize the way governments, institutions, and corporates function and is on its course to become the new normal. It also has the potential to transform multiple industries and make processes more democratic, secure, transparent, and efficient. The State government has already taken the lead in introducing blockchain and has a vision of becoming blockchain-enabled through its digital assets by 2019,” Nara Lokesh, IT minister, Government of Andhra Pradesh said.

In addition, the state government and ConsenSys are also joining forces to set up the first Indian cohort of ConsenSys Education. By leveraging ConsenSys’ proprietary educational content, the institute will develop blockchain-focused education programmes.

“Traditional education programs cannot keep up with the rapidly developing pace of Ethereum and blockchain as a whole. There’s a need to continue educating new participants in the blockchain ecosystem. The ConsenSys Academy is a blockchain education platform with the mission of bridging the deep Ethereum knowledge gap and revolutionizing education through blockchain technology. ConsenSys’ focus for 2018 and beyond will be to uphold its growing responsibilities as a purveyor of this revolutionary technology,” Kavita Gupta, executive director of ConsenSys, said.