- An article by Lavanya Goinka and Siddharth Sharma
Everything has gone digital in current times, including meetings, lectures, movies, and activities. The impact of the digital trend can be seen all about us, especially during the COVID era, when the majority of work was done online. Under the Digital India Cooperation (DIC), the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) recently created a new platform called Digital locker or DigiLocker as part of the Digital India Initiative. It is a portal that holds all of an individual’s documents, such as PAN cards, Aadhar cards, Birth Certificates, Marksheets, COVID Vaccination Certificates, and so on. The goal of this effort is to encourage the digital sharing of legitimate documents.
Meetings, lectures, movies, and events, for example, have all gone digital in recent years. The impact of the digital trend can clearly be seen all around us, especially during the COVID era, when the majority of work was done online. Under the Digital India Cooperation (DIC), the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) recently created a new platform called Digital locker or DigiLocker. It is a portal that holds all of an individual’s documentation, such as PAN cards, Aadhar cards, birth certificates, marksheets, COVID vaccination certificates, and so on. This effort was started to encourage people to share legitimate papers digitally.
How can one enable DigiLocker?
To use DigiLocker, the user must first create an account with the company by providing their Aadhar number and mobile number. It uses Aadhar for verification, therefore make sure the mobile number and other information match the Aadhar information. Two-step authentication is available in DigiLocker. It sends an OTP to the registered mobile number and then asks for a six-digit PIN that serves as the DigiLocker account’s password. All of your documents will be instantly accessible, shared, and more after you create an account.
Individuals must create an account with DigiLocker by inputting their Aadhar number and mobile number in order to enable DigiLocker. Because it relies on Aadhar for verification, double-check that the mobile number and other information match the Aadhar information. Two-factor authentication is available in DigiLocker. It sends an OTP to the registered mobile number before asking for a six-digit PIN that serves as the DigiLocker account’s password. All of your documents will be immediately accessible, shared, and searchable after you create an account.
Key features:
DigiLocker has been developed to be simple and user-friendly. It’s broken down into several components. Dashboard or home page, issued documents, uploaded documents, shared documents, activity, and issuers are the many sections.
The following are the features and functions of each section: –
- Home page/dashboard- When a user logs in to the platform, this part appears. It displays the other sections so that the user can traverse them to meet his needs. It also displays issued documents from various authorities that are linked to DigiLocker, as well as a URL to view them.
- Documents issued by government authorities integrated with DigiLocker- An individual can locate his documents issued by government authorities integrated with DigiLocker in this section. This section contains a link to the documents that have been issued.
- Submitted documents- This section displays a list of the papers that the user has uploaded. This is a folder containing papers that the user wants to keep safe by storing them on the platform. These documents aren’t already on his DigiLocker account, so the user uploads them from his phone.
- Shared papers- This area keeps track of the documents that the user has sent via email to others. URLs are used to share the documents. The user’s activities in his DigiLocker account is displayed in this section. It displays all of the activity occurring in the DigiLocker account, such as document sharing, downloading, and so on.
- Issuers- This section contains a list of document-issuing authorities. DigiLocker is tied to these authorities. This part also includes a URL for the issuer’s access to the issuance documents.
Creating a DigiLocker account on your mobile phone
Making a DigiLocker account is simple and quick. The following are the steps that an individual must do in order to create a DigiLocker account on his mobile phone:
- Visit DigiLocker’s official website, digilocker.gov.in, or download the DigiLocker app for Android and iPhone from the Play Store and App Store, respectively.
- Select the option to register. It will ask for your entire name (as it appears on your Aadhar card), date of birth, gender, phone number, email address, and Aadhar number. Your DigiLocker account will also require you to create a six-digit PIN or password. After you’ve completed all of the fields, click the submit button.
- Your registered mobile number will receive an OTP. After you’ve completed the OTP, click the submit button.
- After that, you’ll be asked to create an account by entering your username.
- The user will have access to his documents after creating an account, and he will be able to upload new documents, check his issued documents, and many other things. The documents can be uploaded in pdf, jpg, or png format. Documents can be up to 10MB in size.
DigiLocker is a simple platform for storing and protecting legitimate documents.
Uploading documents to DigiLocker
When it comes to uploading documents to DigiLocker, most people have issues. The following are the steps to follow while uploading documents to your DigiLocker account: –
- When you sign in to your DigiLocker account, you will be taken to your account’s homepage.
- On the left side of the webpage, click “Uploaded Documents.”
- On the left side of the section, select the ‘Upload’ option.
- Click the ‘upload’ button after selecting files from the device.
DigiLocker also provides a capability for managing documents that have been uploaded. The user can sort the documents by document type, such as electricity bill, identification certificate, dependency certificate, and so on. It makes it easier for the user to locate documents.
Is DigiLocker safe
Article 21 of the Constitution guarantees the right to privacy to all Indian citizens and non-citizens. Article 21 protects both the right to use the internet and the privacy of online data. Because of the digital age, maintaining one’s right to privacy has grown more challenging. Individuals’ personal information is shared with the apps or websites they use. Although an app or website is required by law not to divulge an individual’s data, most apps and websites fail to do so. They profit by selling the data to other apps or websites. As a result of this misconduct, an individual’s safety in the digital realm is jeopardised.
Furthermore, hackers are building tools and technologies to threaten people’ privacy, specifically ‘Data Privacy.’
Because DigiLocker was created by the government, the vast majority of people trust it. It claims to have safeguarded the privacy of its consumers. It employs 256-bit SSL encryption, mobile number verification, and an ISO 27001-certified data centre, among other features. However, it was questioned, and DigiLocker revealed that there was a breach in individual data privacy, putting 3.68 crores of DigiLocker accounts in jeopardy. Data was not sold or given to any other company by DigiLocker.
Advantages of DigiLocker:
DigiLocker has proven to be useful to citizens and governments alike. It has a number of advantages, which are listed below: –
- Contributes to the ‘Digital India’ aim by assisting in the digital storage and security of documents. It cuts down on paperwork and physical document sharing with organisations. Virtually all of the documents may be found in the issued documents folder and under submitted documents.
- Saves time and reduces administrative workload- It saves time and reduces administrative workload by allowing papers to be validated or checked straight from the DigiLocker account.
- It allows access to documents at any time and from any location, which is a benefit to the individual because he or she does not have to carry physical documents.
- Document security- Because it is governed by the government, it provides the best security for an individual’s records. It ensures the validity and verifiability of all documents.
- Fast service delivery- If residents’ documents are received on time, the government has more time and energy to implement effective steps in the areas of health, education, and employment. Physical document gathering consumes the majority of the government’s resources, including money, time, and effort.
Disadvantages of DigiLocker:
DigiLocker has a few drawbacks, which are listed below:-
- The DigiLocker app is only available to Aadhar cardholders. To create an account on DigiLocker, you must submit your Aadhar number. A person who does not have an Aadhar card is unable to access the DigiLocker’s services.
- NRIs are unable to utilise the DigiLocker app since a cellphone number must be registered in India in order to create an account with DigiLocker.
- Concerns about security- The DigiLocker team just verified that the account data had a vulnerability. Nearly 3.68 crores were at risk, according to DigiLocker, and anyone with the account’s username can access the account’s information. To gain access to the account, the hackers don’t even need a PIN or password.
Conclusion
For the people of India, DigiLocker has proven to be useful. It has handled the major issues of document shortages in physical mode, document loss, document authentication uncertainty, document carrying, and so on. The government should increase public knowledge of this platform so that a wide number of individuals can profit from it and have their documents safely stored in their DigiLocker accounts. The government also uses varied data from residents in its service-delivery schemes and analyses, therefore there is a need for a single, trustworthy platform that contains virtually all of a citizen’s key documents. DigiLocker aids India’s development by making administrative tasks easier for both the government and residents.