New E-sign app to make life simpler for citizens

Come October and you will no longer have to stand in long queues to submit self-attested documents bearing your signature for getting Passport made or applying for any competitive examination. The Software Technology Park of India (STPI), a software promoting arm of Ministry of Telecommunications, is coming out with a mobile application which will authenticate the signature of a person electronically on the basis of Aadhaar number.

The application, to be christened as e-sign app, will allow every person to digitally sign an application form, document or certificate through a digital signature generated on the cloud using eKYC as the authentication mechanism. It will enable any Aadhaar number bearer to authenticate their signature while applying for Passport, PAN card or filing Income Tax Return.

According to Omkar Rai, the director general of STPI, the app will work on mobile platforms as well as on computers or notebooks. “The app will have a feature to identify a person by providing biometric details such as fingerprint, face recognition, iris recognition and retina. Since, the app will be Aadhaar-linked, it will identify a person on the basis of  biometric details and generate a one-time password (OTP). The signature of <g data-gr-id="40">nominee</g> will be authenticated by using OTP,” he said.

Keeping security concerns in mind while accessing any services through <g data-gr-id="50">internet</g>, the validity of OTP has been fixed for a particular session. “Once the signature has been authenticated, the OTP cannot be used for any other purpose, it will vanish soon after signature verification. It improves upon the existing digital signature, in which one has to carry a dongle and the signature can be used several times; the e-sign can be used at anytime, anywhere,” Rai said.

“There are numerous uses of e-sign app. It can be used for authenticating the <g data-gr-id="39">identify</g> of MNREGA worker while disbursing the wages, identifying beneficiary of PDS during <g data-gr-id="44">distribution</g> of rations, etc. It will also help aspirants while submitting their application forms as with the help of this app they can register themselves with any recruiting agency,” said an official, looking after the project.

Notably, over 90 crore citizens are registered with Aadhar and some 30 crore people are estimated to have been using signatures for different purposes. The app would help them to perform the whole process through online mode and it will help in real time authentication. The Aadhaar-based digital identity is an integral part of Digital India, the flagship <g data-gr-id="36">programme</g> of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The end goal of STPI is to have every citizen on the e-sign platform. The department is in talks with different stakeholders such as Passport department, Income Tax department, and several recruitment boards among others. The plan is to make different examination boards enroll under the e-sign scheme.