IIT Madras carried out its first student council election using blockchain-based software -

Students at IIT Madras successfully carried out India’s first student council election using blockchain-based software, an achievement that not only earned a place in the India Book of Records but also holds promise for transforming future election processes.

Originally launched as a CSR project supported by a leading Indian technology company and the Department of Science and Technology, the initiative was designed to address the challenges posed by COVID-19, particularly in managing medical records and tracking health conditions nationwide. The software was first used during the student elections in 2022. Since then, the team has been steadily developing it to eventually scale up for broader use in state and national general elections.

The software was created by students from the Webops and Blockchain Club (W&BC) at the Centre for Innovation (CFI) at IIT Madras, which is India’s largest student-run ’24/7 innovation lab’. The club is committed to leveraging technology to drive positive social change.

Recognizing the critical role of voting technology in democracy, the students focused on enhancing the current technical infrastructure for voting within their college.

Professor Prabhu Rajagopal, who serves as the Advisor for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, along with Anirudh Varna, a fourth-year BTech student, and Vijayaraja R, a second-year MS (Entrepreneurship) student, all from IIT Madras, are the co-founders of the in-house startup Plenome. This startup has successfully commercialized the technology in question.

Plenome’s software is now being used by both government and private entities to manage land and health records.

The pioneering blockchain-based student council election in India started with a vision by the W&BC students at IIT Madras.

Blockchain technology, known for its decentralized and immutable characteristics, proved revolutionary for election processes. Its main advantage is its ability to protect the integrity of elections, ensuring they are secure and free from manipulation.

In contrast to traditional methods, blockchain employs a shared, immutable ledger that is maintained across a network of nodes, offering heightened trust and accountability for each transaction.

Anirudh said that blockchain-based software facilitates the process of recording transactions and tracking assets in a network of decentralized computers.

“Blockchain systems operate over a vast network of computers spread widely geographically and can only be compromised if a majority of these systems simultaneously mount an attack, which is nearly impossible to coordinate,” He also said that blockchain systems are run across a huge network of computers across a large geography and can be tampered with only if a majority of systems attack the operations simultaneously, which is virtually impossible for any entity to orchestrate.

Besides these, he said that moreover once transactions are recorded on a blockchain network, they become permanent and cannot be altered by any one party.

Beyond the excellent security, this technology can also reduce the costs associated with conducting elections. Anirudh observed a notable decrease in expenses during the most recent student elections at IIT Madras compared to earlier systems.

He mentioned that they believe that at a national level, their system could significantly cut costs by making remote voting possible eventually.

Blockchain decentralizes power and eliminates single points of failure, providing redundancy, traceability, transparency, and immutability—key elements needed to secure and maintain integrity within an election system. This reduces the risk of tampering and manipulation, thereby enhancing trust among all stakeholders.

The successful blockchain-based student council election at IIT Madras sets the stage for wider use of this technology in electoral systems. The co-founders of the Plenome startup are looking to expand the system to include state and national elections.

However, scaling up to larger implementations will require navigating a range of technological, practical, and logistical challenges.

Anirudh Varna also explained that enhancing their current infrastructure to accommodate millions of voters involves upgrading computers, boosting cybersecurity, among other things. Additionally, there are practical considerations like ensuring reliable internet connectivity, making the systems user-friendly, and ensuring they can be deployed effectively across different regions of India, all while remaining cost-effective.

Despite these challenges, the team is committed to addressing these issues step by step to make this technology feasible for general elections.

This innovative project has received widespread praise from both students and faculty, indicating a significant shift in electoral practices.

Looking to the future, the impact of blockchain-based election systems is expected to reach well beyond academic settings. As corporations and governments begin to recognize blockchain’s ability to securely manage private data, the potential for digitalized election systems becomes increasingly apparent.

Anirudh added that several countries are now developing ‘blockchain backbone’ systems to manage all public data, which includes running elections and recording the data.

The pioneering efforts of IIT Madras students in executing India’s first blockchain-powered student council elections has established a model for inclusive, transparent, and secure voting, ushering in a new era of digital democracy in India and potentially around the world.

From advances in cryptography to the development of decentralized protocols, the progression of blockchain technology is poised to transform the democratic landscape, empowering citizens to cast their votes from anywhere, at any time.