Road to Success

The GLOBAL BLOCKCHAIN solutions market is growing at the rate of 45% annually, and is likely to reach $34 billion by 2026, leading to rising demand for specialists in this niche technology. The story is the same in India. “Blockchain solutions are increasingly being used in banking, financial, insurance, pharma, farming, e-governance, and healthcare sectors,” says Neelu Jyothi Ahuja, professor, School of Computer Sciences, UPES, a multidisciplinary university in Dehradun.

However, among the two million software developers in India, only a mere 5,000 possess the necessary skill-sets required to make a career in this niche but nascent technology.

“The canvas of blockchain professionals is vast and growing. Some of the key roles are blockchain developer, blockchain consultant, blockchain crypto-currency developer, crypto-currency analyst, blockchain solution architect, research analyst, etc,” says Ahuja.

Recognising the demand-supply gap, academic institutions including universities are introducing courses such as B.Tech in blockchain technology which will help students acquire the right skill sets to explore a career in blockchain technology.

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Besides the IITs and IIITs which offer a range of courses in blockchain technology, many in collaboration with industry, there are a host of private educational institutions offering programmes in this much-in-demand technology. Among those offering a B.Tech course in blockchain technology are Sharda University and Bennett University in Greater Noida, UP, while the Silicon Valley of India, Bengaluru, has Alliance University, Presidency University and Milestone Institute of Allied Health Sciences with dedicated courses. UPES also offers a full-time four-year undergraduate programme in blockchain technology, in collaboration with IBM.

Meanwhile, upGrad offers an executive PG programme in software development – specialisation in blockchain in partnership with IIIT, Bangalore which is a 13-month course, delivered online. IIM Nagpur also provides a post graduate certificate programme in blockchain technology in collaboration with Times Pro, this is an online course that runs for a duration of nine months.

As a distributed ledger-based technology, blockchain technology provides transparency and traceability for the shared data across business networks. It is not possible to access or edit any data stored on blockchain without obtaining consensus from all the participants in the network. This safeguards the data and renders it tamper-proof and immutable. The Indian government is setting up a national blockchain framework for its rapid adoption across industries.

BIG POTENTIAL
Blockchain solutions are increasingly being used in BFSI, pharma, farming and healthcare sectors
The government is setting up a national blockchain framework for its rapid adoption
A host of public and private institutes are offering programmes in blockchain technology