The Government of Telangana is committed to a better understanding of the impact of a host of emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Blockchain on delivery of public services to businesses and citizens alike.

Researchers from SRITNE are engaged with the Government of Telangana in an impact assessment study of the use of Blockchain in the chit funds administration and management. This impact assessment study aims to gather empirical evidence that renders the Government of Telangana’s policymaking in this area scientifically rigorous and systematic.

The focus of the research study is to analyse the impact of Blockchain on the different processes and outcomes related to chit funds market. In the current world, even though many policies aim to regulate the chit fund schemes, a major portion of the investment is done in the unregistered sector, due to low operational cost, less paperwork and high returns. The ecosystem built on Blockchain technology is expected to overcome the bottlenecks in the current workflow in unregistered chit funds to make their operations transparent and render them more attractive to investors. Accordingly, the research question is whether the introduction of Blockchain reduces the throughput time for operating the chit fund schemes, by automating the processes through smart contracts.