Carrying documents as proof of identity, residence or academic qualification while applying for a job or a certificate from a government office is a headache for most citizens.
But that nightmare may soon be a thing of the past. By end of May, citizens in Kerala are expected to have the facility to store digitised copies of important documents like passport, voter card, driving licence and PAN card in an online locker. Named Digital Locker, the facility is an online repository, a cloud service to be introduced by the Kerala State IT Mission.
Linked to a citizen’s Aadhaar number, Digital Locker uses a one-time password verification for safe storage and retrieval of e-documents. By enabling availability of the documents online over a secure link, it obviates the need to present physical copies to authorities. If the user provides the Aadhaar number while applying for a government service, an official can access an e-document stored in the Digital Locker.
“Keeping documents in physical form adds to the administrative overhead. Besides, the verifying their authenticity is a lengthy and complex process. The documents stored in the Digital Locker will be available online and can be accessed and shared anytime, anywhere,” says K. Mohammed Y Safirulla, Director, KSITM.
Linked to Aadhaar, citizens will have lockers online that can store digitised copies of documents like passport, voter ID, driving licence and the like
