Digital Locker a Secured Cloud Platform for Safe Custody & Access of Essential Documents & Certificates

Last Updated on January 19, 2017 by Bharat Saini

Digital Locker is a secure cloud platform for digital issuance, verification and storage of all essential documents and certificates. It allows citizens a shareable private space on a public cloud system wherein documents and certificates can be accessed. The electronic copies of documents and certificates such as driving licence, voter identification and school certificates can be provided by the issuing authorities directly to the citizen’s locker. Once the process is completed, people will be able to upload or share documents of even private entities which till now were restricted to government documents such as passport and driving licence, among others. Digital locker concept that aims to provide a secure platform for personal documents of citizens on a common cloud is Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s favourite project envisaged under the Digital India initiative of the National Democratic Alliance government and will be a reality from 2017. The scheme assumes importance as the number of Internet users in India are expected to reach 730 million by 2020.

Digital Locker  Dedicated 10MB free personal storage space, linked to each resident’s Aadhaar, to securely store e-documents and to store URI link of e-documents for accessing them directly from the repositories. Sharing of secured e-documents with requesters. Currently accessible via web portal, will be made accessible through mobile application also.  Integrated e-Sign service to digitally sign documents (refer e-Sign Brochure). Objectives : Enable digital empowerment of residents by providing them with Digital Locker on the cloud. Enable e-Signing of documents and make them available electronically and online minimize the use of physical documents. Ensure authenticity of the e-documents and thereby eliminate usage of fake documents.  Secure access to Govt. issued documents through a web portal and mobile application for residents. Reduce administrative overhead of Govt. departments and agencies and make it easy for the residents to receive services. Anytime, anywhere access to the documents by the resident. Open and interoperable standards based architecture to support a well-structured standard document format to support easy sharing of documents across departments and agencies. Ensure privacy and authorized access to residents’ data.

The Information Technology (IT) infrastructure for the project is being streamlined by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), government think tank NITI Aayog and the finance ministry. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) has recently approved setting up of an authority which will licence, empanel and manage digital locker service providers including private entities. It will also authorise service providers to offer digital locker portals, access gateways and repository facilities electronically.

The authority will also lay down standards, guidelines and spe

cifications for authorised service provider as well as data retention and migration guidelines besides setting up a digital locker directory. A grievance redressal system will also be created along with security and privacy guidelines. The authority will also have powers to give an opinion on suspension and revocation of a digital locker account of a subscriber in public interest for reasons specified in the rules.

DigiLocker services, is India’s first-ever secure cloud platform for digital issuance, verification and storage of all essential documents and certificates. Since, the initiative was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in July 2015 as part of the Digital India initiative, it has around two million registered users, including 17,000 users aged 10 or less. As many as 2744361 users have signed for DigiLocker till 12 October, 2016. DigiLocker recently tied up with ministry of roads and highways to integrate digital driving licence and vehicle registration certificate.

Digital Lockers or DigiLocker are like e-mail accounts which can be opened through websites. Citizens who sign up for a DigiLocker account get dedicated online storage space linked to their Aadhaar numbers. The Digital Locker system will be expanded with an aim to relieve people from tedious process of physical document submission for admission, bank loans etc. All the Central Ministries and Organisations which issue any document to a citizen are to encourage them to put these documents in a digital locker.