Gods own country gives technological solution for Migrant labourers

By Mathews Raju*

Almost every day, we hear some news regarding migrant labourers. Most of these labourers hail from various parts of India and some even from other countries such as Bangladesh or Nepal, and they reside here without proper documents. Migrant labourers play a vital role in building Kerala’s economy, and it’s important that we address the challenges they face.
US Consulate General, Chennai; and Centre for Public Policy Research (CPPR) joined hands with Maker Village, and Kerala Start-up Mission to conduct Blockathon for Change, a hackathonto solve migrant labour issues using blockchain technology. Since I am an intern at CPPR, I got an opportunity to attend this hackathon. From what I understood, a hackathon is an event where participants are assigned with certain problem statements and they have to find a solution to those problems, mostly using technology. At Blockathon for Change, they are to use blockchain technology which has been making news as of lately.
Before attending the event, I had no idea how blockchain technology works or the potential of it. During the event, teams presented their solutions such as Skillchain, Pravasi, etc. From what I understood, Blockchain can take care of most of the issues these labourers face on the employment front through trusted payment mechanisms, employment history, etc. which are some of the issues migrant labourers face in Kerala. On my interaction with the winners, I was told that they will improvise their solutions and put them out as finished products in the market.
It was fun attending the event and interacting with techies from various parts of India. The speakers invoked ideas about technology, societal issues, etc. Over two days’ time, Blockathon for Change helped me learn about a new technology which is going to be tomorrow’s revolution.

*This blog is written by Mathews Raju Interning at CPPR and Pursuing Bachelors in Technology. Views expressed by the author is personal and does not represent that of CPPR

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