Goa eyes blockchain to drive growth and innovation in the state

The Goa government has taken another step towards its ambition of expanding blockchain adoption in the state, with the Department of Information Technology, Electronics and Communications (DITE&C) convening meetings aimed at building a dedicated blockchain community and strengthening ties between industry and academia.

The sessions, held at Paryatan Bhavan in Panjim, brought together corporate representatives, blockchain specialists, academics and incubators to examine the growing potential of tokenisation and its practical applications. Among the discussions was a presentation on Omnumi, a blockchain platform designed to provide a secure and compliant framework for tokenised deposits and regulated digital currencies.

McLaren Strategic Solutions was joined by a senior Omnumi delegation that included its co-founder and chief executive, Kirk Chapman, along with chief technology officer Sree Tirumalasetti, chief architect Robin Huiser, head of product delivery Joe O’Rourke and head of service delivery Natalie Nopareporn.

Discussing the future of blockchain technology in Goa, Rohan Khaunte, Minister for Information Technology, Electronics and Communications (ITE&C), said, “We see immense potential in Goa's youth and believe that blockchain technology can be a game-changer for them. This technology has the power to transform industries and create new opportunities, and we're committed to supporting its development and adoption.”

DISCUSSIONS & PLANS

The meetings were divided into three sessions. The first session with corporates provided an overview of tokenisation and the Omnumi platform. The second session with blockchain experts delved into the technical aspects of the platform, where Robin Huiser, Omnumi’s chief architect, outlined the platform’s multisig framework, card-integration capabilities and its deployable ERC-20 contracts.

The third session with academia and incubators focused on exploring potential collaborations and developing skills at institutions. McLaren has already leveraged Goa as a strategic hub for its global operations, with the launch of a Development Centre in the state last year. Now, following McLaren’s lead, Omnumi, a US-based company, is planning to set up its own operations in Goa. Both companies are targeting the recruitment of over 200 professionals in the coming years, reflecting strong confidence in Goa’s talent pool and signaling a major boost for the local tech ecosystem.

“In Goa, we have highly motivated academic partners and students who are looking to solve real-world problems and get their hands on cutting-edge technology. We want to make the Omnium platform available to the academy partners within a sandbox and also provide the training, the collateral and the support required to bring new ideas and projects to life,” said Anoj Pillai from McLaren Strategic Solutions.

The discussions were strongly supported by DITE&C, which has been driving forward-thinking initiatives to position Goa as a hub for emerging technologies. The meetings highlighted the immense potential for collaboration between industry and academia with a plan to conduct a two-day hackathon to explore implementation of use cases. The McLaren team also proposed a Omnumi Wallet based Goa Tourism App and highlighted the potential for blockchain technology to drive growth and innovation in the state.