The Buyt Desk
Image Courtesy- digilocker.gov.in
Do you store gold, property papers, and other valuables in a bank’s locker? Well, the Ministry of Electronics & IT (MeitY) has launched Digilocker so that you can safely store valuable documents like identity proofs digitally. The aim of the Government was simple – to make India digitally empowered and create a paperless administration. Digilocker is powered by cloud computing. By making a Digilocker ID, you receive 1 GB exclusive storage on the cloud. A website and mobile app are available for Digilocker.
How does Digilocker work?
You can create an account on the official website and receive your Digilocker ID. You can generate the ID within a few minutes. Simply, fill in the demographic details, Aadhaar number, and mobile number in the sign up form. As a user, you can scan important documents like a PAN card and upload them in the Digilocker. This frees you from carrying paper-form of essential documents everywhere. You can send documents directly from the Digilocker to the requester. Moreover, you do not need to worry about the safety of necessary documents anymore.
There are more advantages of this incredible digital safe. You can forget the hassle of going from one office to another to receive a document. Imagine the relief to receive a document in real-time from a Government office with a click of a button. You may have got your mark sheets attested by Gazetted Officer as proof of authenticity. With the Digilocker account, you are also relieved from this difficulty. You have an eSign facility with your account, which is the same as self-attestation. Digital signature has other uses too. You can use it to eSign ITR returns.
When you visit the Digilocker website, you can view the list of organizations that use it. Some are the Central and State Government agencies, health and educational institutions, and Defence academies. These organizations directly issue documents in your Digilocker account. The Issuer is the term that defines these organizations. The issued documents are considered at par with the original documents under the Information Technology Act 2000. Recently, CBSE issued certificates to student’s Digilocker accounts.
Such an innovation definitely reduces the administrative work and cost of issuers. Companies can even request or verify digital documents directly from issuers. This verification occurs in real-time. A company that requests documents is called Requester. You must note that a requester cannot ask an issuer for a document without your consent.
Safety of Digilocker
You may be wondering whether Digilocker is safe to store your previous documents. Yes, it is!
The Government has taken many measures for the security of Digilocker:
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Software developers use the Standard coding practices for Digilocker. In fact, they test every release for security concern before putting on the servers. Also, your data is constantly backed by while maintaining utmost security.
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256 Bit SSL Encryption protects every data exchange occurring via Digilocker.
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You create a PIN during sign up. This provides an additional security layer. Moreover, Digilocker uses mobile authentication through OTP or biometric authentication via Aadhaar for access.
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Data center that hosts Digilocker is ISO 27001 certified.
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As mentioned above, no one can access your documents without your consent.
We hope that you will safeguard your important documents in this innovative and useful digital wallet, Digilocker.
