Indian financial services giant Axis Bank issued a financial contract between two domestic businesses by using a government-backed blockchain platform called Secured Logistics Document Exchange (SLDE).

SLDE was developed and released on Jul. 28, 2021, by India’s Ministry of Commerce & Industry to serve as a digital document exchange platform that uses blockchain-based security protocols for data security and authentication.

According to the official announcement, Axis issued a letter of credit, a financial contract that guarantees payment upon conditions, between Arcelor Mittal Nippon Steel India and Lalit Pipes & Pipes Ltd. With SLDE, the Indian ministry aims to improve transparency in terms of audits, capital requirements and logistics. Axis Bank’s president of wholesale banking products, Vivek Gupta, added:

The state-backed blockchain platform also includes a greenhouse gas (GHG) emission calculator that “allows for commodity-wise comparison of GHG emissions and total cost of transportation, including their environmental cost, between movement by road and rail.”

The above image, originally shared by Axis Bank for the occasion, shows the logo of Ethereum (ETH) — strengthening the bank’s commitment to blockchain acceptance.

Related: Indian state government to accredit Web 2.0 and Web 3.0 blockchain startups

Despite the lack of discussions and regulations around cryptocurrencies, the central and state governments in India have taken proactive measures to implement blockchain technology across various business and development sectors.

At the end of last year, the state government of Telangana launched an initiative for early-stage Web 2.0 and Web 3.0 startups and blockchain developers to help build solutions to real-world