NPCI unveils Drunix to support blockchain and tokenisation ecosystems

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has launched Drunix, an open-source blockchain platform designed to enable enterprises and public institutions to build and scale tokenisation platforms, digital asset ecosystems, and multi-organisation blockchain networks.

Key Highlights

• Drunix is a high-performance distributed ledger platform engineered for enterprise and public infrastructure adoption.
• It is built as an enhanced fork of Hyperledger Fabric, an open-source enterprise blockchain framework developed under the Linux Foundation.
• The platform enables large-scale blockchain deployment with improved scalability, security and interoperability for institutional use.

Second Major Open-Source Blockchain Initiative

• Drunix is NPCI’s second major open-source contribution in the blockchain and tokenisation ecosystem.
• It follows Falcon, a platform focused on production-grade blockchain network management and orchestration.

Other Digital Public Infrastructure Initiatives by NPCI

Apart from digital payments, NPCI has introduced several technology platforms, including:

• Finance Model for India (FiMI) – A financial modelling framework for the digital payments ecosystem.
• Vigil-AI – An artificial intelligence-based fraud detection and risk management solution.
• Falcon – A blockchain network management and orchestration platform.

Expansion Beyond Digital Payments

• NPCI is expanding its role beyond operating the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and other retail payment systems.
• As part of this strategy, it plans to establish a fourth subsidiary, NPCI Tech Solutions Ltd. (NTSL), to strengthen India’s digital public infrastructure and technology capabilities.

About Drunix

• Developer: National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI)
• Nature: Open-source blockchain platform
• Purpose: Building tokenisation platforms, digital asset ecosystems, and multi-party blockchain networks
• Technology Base: Enhanced fork of Hyperledger Fabric
• Key Features:
  • High-performance distributed ledger
  • Enterprise-grade scalability
  • Public infrastructure readiness
  • Open-source architecture
  • Support for tokenisation and digital asset applications.

About Hyperledger Fabric

• An open-source enterprise blockchain framework hosted by the Linux Foundation.
• Designed for permissioned (private) blockchain networks, where participants are known and authenticated.
• Supports smart contracts (Chaincode), modular architecture, high scalability, confidential transactions and enterprise-grade security.
• Widely used in sectors such as finance, supply chains, healthcare, and government services.

About NPCI

• Established in 2008 under the guidance of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA).
• Operates as an umbrella organisation for retail payment systems in India.
• Key products include:
  • Unified Payments Interface (UPI)
  • RuPay
  • Immediate Payment Service (IMPS)
  • National Automated Clearing House (NACH)
  • Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS)
  • National Electronic Toll Collection (NETC/Fastag).

Source: BS