Highlights:
- A well-crafted fraud may bypass even the best-trained AI model, but with blockchain, the need for trust altogether gets eliminated
- For recruiters using blockchain-integrated systems, the time consumption for verification dramatically reduces, as candidates share cryptographic proofs from their credential wallets
Prevention is always better than a cure, and that applies to hiring practices as well. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, HR functions have undergone a significant shift. From tasks like hiring to building a technically sound employee base, managing remote employee bases, HR functions have evolved quickly and a lot.
With the increased pressure of meeting these evolving needs, enterprises started automating as many HR functions as possible, including the preliminary screening of candidates.
Even then, fabricated experience, inflated job titles, forged degrees, and cleverly edited employment dates slipped through systems that relied on keyword filters and templated formats, due to factors like the rapid growth of the gig workforce, remote hiring, etc.
On this, senior HR leader Unmesh Pawar said, “However, it is important to address why candidates lie on their resumes. They just try to subtly match the job description.”
At this point, even technology like ATS and artificial intelligence (AI)- driven tools for candidate shortlisting couldn’t address the issues like fabricated resumes, leading to constraints like wrong hiring, diminishing rate of employee retention, talent shortage and skills gap.
This is where blockchain comes into action. Instead of relying on unverifiable claims and easily edited PDFs, blockchain makes it possible to access tamper-proof records of a candidate’s qualifications, work history, and certifications. Every credential stored on the blockchain is equipped with an unalterable timestamp and source verification, helping recruiters to streamline the processes of authentic candidate screening.
What is blockchain, and how does it help HRs?
A blockchain is a highly secure, digital ledger used to record information, which, in the case of hiring, may be professional credentials, work history, educational certificates, etc. Records are cryptographically verified and stored across a shared network of computers. Every time a new piece of information is verified and added, it is bundled into a block and permanently linked to the previous records, forming an unbreakable, time-stamped chain.
What makes it believable is that if anyone tries to sneak and change an input, the chain breaks. Because everyone holds a copy of the official ledger, the fraud is instantly flagged and rejected by the network.
For HR, this means that when a candidate shares a verified credential, the recruiter can instantly trust its authenticity because it’s been secured by the network, eliminating the need for slow, costly, and manual background checks.
For example, when a candidate applies for a role, instead of HR spending days manually calling institutions to verify degrees and past employment, the company simply uses a secure digital key to access the blockchain, which instantly confirms the authenticity of those credentials because they were permanently recorded and verified by the issuing institutions on the immutable, shared network, accelerating hiring and eliminating resume fraud.
Why do HRs need it?
According to a report published by EY in 2025, of all the people who lied in their CVs, 96% in healthcare, 88% in financial services, and 79% in IT/ITeS had already spent a few years in the workforce. Of the candidates with discrepant profiles, 83% failed to comply with employment checks, and 13% had education check-related issues.
The study further found that alarmingly, 84% of these applicants provided certificates from institutes that lacked proper government accreditation or approval. Plus, a worrying pattern has emerged, with three out of four candidates submitting false employment records, and nearly one-third presenting fake experience letters that claimed stints at some of India’s top ten healthcare institutions to boost the credibility of their profiles.
The EY report stated that the company’s Partner, Forensic and Integrity Services, Vivek Aggarwal, is of the view that the risk landscape is shifting, and CHROs are at the forefront of managing its complexities. In this environment, adopting a strategic approach to risk management is crucial.
However, the data clearly reflects that AI is nowhere even close to the detection of fabricated resumes. While AI speeds up the process and helps with risk assessment, blockchain prevents fraud and forgery from entering the system.
With a blockchain-integrated application, instead of uploading PDFs, candidates share encrypted proofs from their credential wallets. Recruiters access decentralised verification records of degrees, experience, skill assessments and project histories. The result? A sharp fall in fraud and a major rise in hiring accuracy.
Blockchain-vs-AI
Though blockchain and AI may seem to be each other’s competitors, together they make a better team. However, even when integrated, AI comes into action only after blockchain has done its job.
A well-crafted fraud may bypass even the best-trained AI model, but with blockchain, the need for trust altogether gets eliminated. If a credential is not on the ledger, it is effectively considered unverified.
For recruiters using blockchain-integrated systems, the time consumption for verification dramatically reduces, as instead of uploading PDFs or text-heavy resumes, candidates share cryptographic proofs from their credential wallets — degrees, certifications, work histories, project records — all stored on a decentralised ledger.
However, Ambit Private Limited’s Managing Director and Group Head- Strategy, Transformation & Talent, Animesh Kumar, noted, “The primary loophole is that the sources, such as the employers and educational institutions, will have to agree to be on the network.”
While Unmesh Pawar agreed to this perception, he further added that in many cases, HRs are seen ghosting candidates without proper feedback and reasons for their rejection. To get over such struggles, the candidates often end up enhancing their experiences on their resumes. Thus, the best practice should be to have a balanced approach.
Key challenges
These insights from the senior industry experts reflect some of the possible reasons for less adoption of blockchain for background verification, even though it comes with a lot of advantages. Some of the key challenges of adopting blockchain for a highly populated country like India are:
- First-source adoption is the biggest bottleneck.
As mentioned by Pawar, the trickiest thing about blockchain data is that the input must be provided by the first source, such as universities, schools, employers, etc. In India, this becomes particularly difficult, as many older or smaller institutions lack the resources and technological readiness to adopt such advanced systems. Without government support and significant funding, initiating this shift remains a major hurdle.
- The cost barrier
For a country with a population of more than 150 crore, accumulating funds to set up such humongous IT infra, hiring or training specialised blockchain developers, and migrating existing databases requires a substantial upfront capital investment that smaller organisations often can’t afford.
- Migrating old records
Credentials issued before blockchain adoption would still be required to go through manual checks before being added to the chain, which is a time and cost-heavy process.
- The legal constraints
Pawar stated that data privacy is a big concern, as once uploaded, blockchain data is stored permanently. His statement aligns with the legal constraints involved in engaging with such technology. In India, though data privacy laws are getting tighter, none specifically address blockchain’s immutability. Since blockchain data cannot be deleted, government clarity is needed on handling requests such as personal data withdrawal or Aadhaar-linked identity changes.
Per Pawar, the best way to cope with all such challenges is to hire right.
“I would personally hire the candidate with capabilities over the candidate with the right credentials. I also wouldn’t mind if a candidate is at least honest about his gaps,” Pawar added.
Then What’s The Solution?
Though the application of blockchain technology in HR looks complex and cost-heavy, the maze of infrastructural gaps may be addressed with a little planning and governance. Some of the possible solutions could be:
Public Networks
With such constraints, blockchain can be adopted through a unified network authorised and mandated by the government, like the Aadhaar or UAN. By mandating such a network through bodies like the UGC, AICTE, NCVT, and state boards, a lot of such issues can be addressed feasibly. In that case, employers and institutions may offer blockchain-friendly certificates, similar to those of Digilocker, for quick access by others in the network.
Hybrid Verification
Also, for better verification, a hybrid process can be explored by the recruiters and institutions issuing the certificates. As a lot of data which was created before the adoption of blockchain can’t be uploaded, recruiters would have to be considerate to adopt a hybrid mode of background verification.
Plus, integration of the system with Digilocker-like registries can reduce the burden as verified data is already stored on such government-authorised platforms. Once these legacy documents are validated through these hubs, they can be converted into blockchain-compatible credentials and added to a candidate’s verified digital wallet.
Fund Allocation
The intervention of the government will not only offer clarity but also save cost, reduce the funding burden and ensure governance, reducing the chances of data leakage or misuse. With regulation access controls, mandatory encryption standards, audit trails, and clear accountability frameworks, the chances of data leakage or misuse will drop significantly.
Legalisation
A single national authority overseeing credential issuance will ensure that only verified institutions will be authorised to upload data, preventing fake universities or unaccredited bodies from feeding false information into the system.
By setting policy clarity, offering shared infrastructure, and enforcing security and compliance, the government will remove ambiguity, lower the financial burden, and create a reliable, tamper-proof ecosystem that HR teams and candidates can trust.
Going Ahead
Despite challenges, India’s hiring ecosystem is moving irreversibly toward digitisation.
AI alone cannot fix resume fraud, and the stakes are too high to ignore. To build a trustworthy talent landscape, blockchain is strategic. Thus, going ahead, Indian HRs need to experiment with this deeptech solution to completely automate the initial screening process.
As more institutions shift to issuing blockchain-based credentials and as policy frameworks evolve, HR in India will gradually move from compliance-heavy to intelligence-driven. When the authenticity of credentials is verified, the candidate ecosystem will be refined with genuine talent, cultural fit, and strategic workforce planning.
While the challenges of implementation will persist for a prolonged period, the reward is an ethical, efficient, and fraud-free talent ecosystem.
