Digital Locker

Source- This post on Digital Locker is based on the article “What is DigiLocker and does it keep your data and documents safe?” published in “The Hindu” on 12th May 2024.

Why in the News?

Following the release of results for various boards across the country, it has been observed that numerous students now have the ability to retrieve their board exam results and verified marksheets via the Indian government’s DigiLocker platform.

About Digital Locker

1. About DigiLocker: It is the Indian Government’s flagship program under the Digital India.

2. Aim: It is aimed at transforming India into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy.

3. It is a platform for issuance and verification of documents & certificates in a digital way, thus eliminating the use of physical documents.

4. It fits into Digital India’s visions of providing citizens a shareable private space on a public cloud and making all documents or certificates available on this cloud.

Benefits of Digital locker:

1. Citizens can access their digital documents anytime, anywhere and share it online. This is convenient and time saving.

2. It reduces the administrative overhead of Government departments by minimizing the use of paper.

3. Digital Locker makes it easier to validate the authenticity of documents as they are issued directly by the registered issuers.

4. Self-uploaded documents can be digitally signed using the eSign facility (which is similar to the process of self-attestation.

Does it keep data and documents safe?

DigiLocker employs standard security measures and Data shared through DigiLocker is encrypted during transit, which ensures secure transmission. DigiLocker does not share user data with third parties. 

Challenges and Limitations:

1. Accessibility Challenges: Usage of OTPs (One-Time Passwords) for verification poses a challenge for some users, especially those with limited digital literacy.

2. Limited Accessibility for Non-readers: Users who cannot read face challenges in accessing and utilizing documents stored in DigiLocker, as the app relies heavily on text-based interactions.

3. Name Discrepancies: People with multiple names, aliases, or inconsistent spellings may encounter difficulties in fetching their documents through DigiLocker. Even minor discrepancies such as capitalization or initials can lead to failures in document retrieval.

4. Lack of Uniformity in Acceptance: Different government authorities and law enforcement bodies in India have varying policies regarding the acceptance of virtual documents through DigiLocker.

UPSC Syllabus: Polity and nation