NSE to test E-voting using Blockchain
The objective is to provide a low risk low effort solution for E- Voting
Mumbai, September 27, 2018: India’s leading stock exchange, National Stock Exchange of India Limited (NSE) announced today that it is conducting tests to use blockchain for E-Voting for listed companies on Elemential Labs platform.
The pilot, which has been conducted would involve setting up a blockchain to connect the regulator with the company and the RTA during the voting process. The voting rights will be tokenized, thus making them easy to transfer and proxy. The test will be evaluated on the auditability of the actions on the chain as well as the ease of conducting the process using blockchain.
Sankarson Banerjee, CTO-Projects, NSE said, “The immutable nature of blockchain will ensure that every action taken by a network participant is transparent to the regulator. Additionally, the smart contract framework enables synchronization of the vote count process between the company and the regulator in real time. These features will take us closer to an environment of improved corporate governance and compliance.”
The pilot, aimed at providing a highly transparent and low risk solution for E- Voting, would enhance the transparency in the voting process.
The blockchain will be built using Elemential platform on Hyperledger framework. The SI partner is NSE IT, which is in-charge of building and managing the front-end application.
Speaking about the pilot, Raunaq Vaisoha, CEO Elemential Lab said, “Blockchain enables a real-time, immutable trail of all activities for the regulator. This brings us a step closer to highly transparent and clear corporate governance; an operating standard that most companies aspire to.”
About National Stock Exchange of India Limited (NSE):
The National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. (NSE) is the leading stock exchange in India and the second largest in the world by nos. of trades in equity shares from January to June 2018, according to World Federation of Exchanges (WFE) report. NSE was the first exchange in India to implement electronic or screen-based trading. It began operations in 1994 and is ranked as the largest stock exchange in India in terms of total and average daily turnover for equity shares every year since 1995, based on SEBI data. NSE has a fully-integrated business model comprising exchange listings, trading services, clearing and settlement services, indices, market data feeds, technology solutions and financial education offerings. NSE also oversees compliance by trading and clearing members with the rules and regulations of the exchange. NSE is a pioneer in technology and ensures the reliability and performance of its systems through a culture of innovation and investment in technology. NSE believes that the scale and breadth of its products and services, sustained leadership positions across multiple asset classes in India and globally enable it to be highly reactive to market demands and changes and deliver innovation in both trading and non-trading businesses to provide high-quality data and services to market participants and clients.
Disclaimer: National Stock Exchange of India Limited is proposing, subject to receipt of requisite approvals, market conditions and other considerations, an initial public offer of its equity shares and has filed a draft red herring prospectus dated December 28, 2016 (“DRHP”) with Securities and Exchange Board of India (“SEBI”). The DRHP is available on the website of SEBI as well as on website of the Managers, Citigroup Global Markets India Private Limited at http://www.online.citibank.co.in/rhtm/citigroupglobalscreen1.htm, JM Financial Institutional Securities Limited at www.jmfl.com, Kotak Mahindra Capital Company Limited at http://www.investmentbank.kotak.com, Morgan Stanley India Company Private Limited at http://www.morganstanley.com/about-us/global-offices/india/, HDFC Bank Limited at www.hdfcbank.com, ICICI Securities Limited at www.icicisecurities.com, IDFC Bank Limited at www.idfcbank.com and IIFL Holdings Limited at www.iiflcap.com. Potential investors should note that investment in equity shares involves a high degree of risk and for details relating to such risk, see “Risk Factors” beginning on page 19 of the DRHP. Potential investors should not rely on the DRHP filed with SEBI for making any investment decision.
Any securities referred to herein have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an exemption from registration under the Securities Act. There is no intention to register any securities referred to herein in the United States or to make a public offering of the securities in the United States.