Indian Railways have adopted non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to memorialise the journey to MahaKumbh Mela, a historic Hindu pilgrimage, via an initiative that blends tradition with blockchain innovation.
According to an announcement from Chaincode Consulting, a blockchain company chosen by the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) to spearhead the project, passengers travelling to MahaKumbh, a festival held every 12 years, will have their tickets minted as NFTs on the Polygon blockchain.
Meanwhile, NFTtrace, a real-world assets and traceability platform, will be responsible for managing the issuance and verification of these NFT tickets through a dedicated portal. An excerpt on the portal’s login page states:
“The sacred moments of your MahaKumbh Mela journey are immortalised as NFTs, blending spirituality with digital innovation. These unique digital souvenirs celebrate devotion, tradition of our rich cultural heritage in timeless ways.”
Commenting on the development, Chaincode Consulting CEO Alok Gupta said the initiative aims to offer a “digital-first experience that complements the spiritual and traditional significance of the Mahakumbh” while also opening up new levels of engagement across the Indian NFT market.
The decision to leverage Polygon was due to its faster transaction throughput and low gas fees, which ensure scalability and environmental sustainability, according to Chaincode.
This makes Polygon an ideal choice for handling the large-scale issuance of NFT tickets, especially considering that millions of travellers are expected to participate in the pilgrimage.
The festival commenced on January 13, 2025, in the Indian city of Prayagraj. Recognised as one of the largest religious gatherings in the world, the MahaKumbh Mela is also inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
IRCTC’s other NFT initiatives
Over the past year, Indian Railways has been steadily weaving blockchain technology into its cultural tapestry by offering NFT-based tickets for other religious and cultural events.
In early 2024, IRCTC launched limited edition NFT tickets themed around the festival of Holi that offered certain perks to its holders.
The NFTs were issued for two of the newly launched semi-high-speed Tejas Express trains travelling to and from the capital city of Delhi.
While NFTtrace handled the issuance of the tickets, the Hyperledger blockchain was used as the underlying technology stack.
Earlier in the year, IRCTC introduced a similar NFT ticketing initiative for passengers travelling to the holy city of Ayodhya.
Yes to NFTs but no to crypto
India’s NFT push comes even as regulators keep crypto on the back burner while the country’s population is showing notable interest in the emerging asset class.
A recent report from local crypto exchange CoinSwitch found that young investors in tier-2 and tier-3 cities were leading crypto adoption in the nation.
According to Chainalysis’s crypto adoption index, India also ranks first among 151 nations in terms of overall crypto adoption.
Yet, regulators have been reluctant to draft clear regulations for the sector and revise its stringent tax policies, which many industry stakeholders believe is stifling innovation in the crypto space.
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