How to use DigiLocker | Store DL and RC in Digilocker

How to use DigiLocker | Store DL and RC in Digilocker

Digital India – this is perhaps one of the most dramatic dreams of Modi Government in Delhi till date. Weirdly enough, it actually resonates with our forward-thinking nation, which was kind of paralyzed by the burden of paper documents whose management looked more akin to a task befitting the legendary Hercules.

Setting aside all tidbits of loose talks, PM Narendra Modi formally launched the new DigiLocker service as a part of his government’s Digital India program on July 1, 2015. However, the program was already running in Beta phase since February this year.

There may be a plethora of questions flooding your brain right now. Some of them may be:

• What really is DigiLocker?
• Who are the target audience for this service?
• Who operates this service?
• How to access this service?
• What are the benefits of this service?

Glad you asked…

Let us answer one question at a time to get a better understanding of this new service offered by Government of India. Ready?

What really is DigiLocker?

DigiLocker is a cloud-platform more like the known names such as Google Drive, Sky Drive, Drop Box, iCloud etc. So, it is essentially a digital service where Indian citizens can easily store digital copies of their documents. Not just that, users can also safely store URI links (or Uniform Resource Identifier links) to digital or e- documents provided by different issuers.

This cloud storage service also offers an interesting feature. Users can actually sign their stored e-documents digitally using e-Sign feature that is offered with this service.

What type of documents can be stored?

All personal documents including but not limited to voter ID cards, PAN cards, university certificates, driving license etc. can be stored in DigiLocker. As mentioned earlier, users can also store URLs for digital documents issued by different departments.

Who can use this service?

This service can be availed by all citizens of India. It is a national service that targets every single Indian. However, there is one restriction. The service will be made available only and only to those who have Aadhar Card number at their disposal. So, if you do not have an Aadhar Card yet, you can apply for one to avail this service. Those without Aadhar Card are out of luck!

Is this service pricy?

The DigiLocker service is made available without any cost. As a citizen of India, it is expected that you are a proud tax-payer (unless there is something you really need to hide from the Income Tax Department). Your tax money already pays for this service and there is no need to pay anything else to access DigiLocker. Basically, the DigiLocker service is a national infrastructure service, only this time, it is in digital format.

Are there any special requirements for using DigiLocker service?

Yes, there is but they are nothing so special that you cannot use it. Here are the requirements you need to keep in mind:

• You need to have your Aadhar Card number to access the service.
• You cannot store files in any other format other than those have the following extensions: .pdf, .jpg, .jpeg, .png, .gif and .bmp. Video or audio files are not allowed.
• No document file should exceed 1 MB in size.

If you meet these requirements, you are good to go!

How much storage space is offered?

This is where you may be slightly dissatisfied because the maximum storage allotted for an individual user is 1 Gigabyte. Good news however is that most of the documents don’t exceed a few KBs in size and hence, 1GB is good enough to accommodate thousands of documents. This is precisely why, no other file formats other than those mentioned above are allowed.

Who is in charge of maintaining the DigiLocker service?

If you were expecting it to be a private company, you were wrong. The responsibility for maintaining this service has been handed over to the Department of Electronics and Information Technology of Government of India.

What are the modes of accessing this service?

When it comes to accessing the service, it is no different than private services like Google Drive, Sky Drive, Drop Box or any other cloud storage service. DigiLocker can be accessed using a web portal that can be accessed using this URL. If however, you want or need to access the portal on-the-go, you can feel free to download the mobile app for your Android device from Play Store. Currently there is no information available about the status of iOS app of DigiLocker.

How to get inside the locker?

In order to use the service, you need to sign up for it. You can do so by using this link. On the registration page, you will be asked to provide your Aadhar Card number. Once you input the number, you can select an option of One Time Password (OTP) to be sent to your mobile number or you can use ‘Finger Print’ option. In order to use the Finger Print option, you will need a biometric device attached to your computer. Currently 11 biometric devices are supported which are:

• Cogent CSD200
• Mantra MFS100
• Morpho MSO 1350E
• Morpho MSO 1350E2
• Morpho MSO 1300E
• Morpho MSO 300
• Morpho MSO 301
• Morpho MSO 350
• Morpho MSO 351
• SecuGen HU20
• Startek FM220

Once your finger print is authenticated, you will be taken to a next page where you can create your username and password. For OTP registration, the OTP will be sent to the mobile number which is UIDAI registered. In care your mobile number is not UIDAI registered, you need to visit an Enrolment Center and get it registered.

Once you enter the OTP, UIDAI will perform e-KYC (electronic Know Your Customer) verification. Upon successful verification, you can enter the locker and perform a host of activities like creating/changing password, linking DigiLocker account with social media profiles for social login etc.

What will you find inside DigiLocker?

Inside the DigiLocker you will find a section called ‘My Documents’. This section in turn will have two subsections titled ‘Digital Documents’ and ‘Uploaded Documents’.

Digital Documents: This is the subsection which will contain URI links to e-documents issued to you by Government departments or different other agencies. Each document stored in this subsection will offer following information:

• Name of the document.
• URI for the document.
• Date of issuing the document.
• Options for sharing the document.

Uploaded Documents: This subsection is meant for uploading your documents like voter ID card, PAN card, driving license etc. Each uploaded document will have a set of information available which include:

• Name of the document.
• Date on which the document was uploaded.
• Status of the document which will indicate whether the document has been electronically signed or not.
• Options for removing or deleting the document.
• Options for sharing the document.
• Signature option where a tick mark (ü) will be shown if the document has already been eSigned.

There will be 5 more sections known as My Profile, Account Settings,Contact Us, My Issuer and My Requester.

My Profile: This section will extract and display your information from UIDAI database. Information like name, date of birth, mobile number, email, residential address, gender etc. will be displayed.

Account Setting: This is where you can change password or add social media profiles.

Contact Us: This section will display information about the service and the options that can be used for sending feedback or queries.

My Issuer: This is the section which is designed for displaying information about all issuers who have issued digital documents to you and the list of all documents that have issued to you by different issuers.

My Requester: This is the section that has been designed to display information about all organizations that have request digital documents from your account.

How do issuers use DigiLocker?

Even an issuer needs to register with DigiLocker. Once an issuer registers, a unique Issuer ID will be provided to the issuer. Using this ID, the issuer and upload digital documents in XML format to specific repositories. Each repository provider has an API which has to be used by the issuer to upload the documents.

Documents uploaded to a particular repository will have an URI containing information like Issuer ID, Document ID and Document Type. Using the Aadhar number of a resident citizen, the document will then be pushed user’s locker.

How do requesters use DigiLocker?

There is something called access gateway. Requesters will have to register for access gateway and then using document URIs, they can retrieve the documents from respective repositories through the access gateway.

What kind of sharing options are available with DigiLocker?

There is no social sharing option available here because of obvious security reasons. The documents stored here are not meant to be made publicly available. So, the only option is to share via email. Clicking on sharing button will open a popup dialog. You will have enter the email of the intended recipient and click or tap on share button. An email will be sent to the recipient which will contain the URI of the document. Clicking on the URI will retrieve the document from the repository and display it to the recipient of the email.

What are the benefits of using DigiLocker?

Really? Okay, here is the list of benefits you will find interesting:

• It saves time that was usually required in case of sharing paper documents.
• Allows easy organization of documents and quick access to the same.
• Allows self-attestation in form of digital signature.
• Authenticity of documents are easily validated because they come directly from issuers.
• Reduces overhead costs for government that was previously required for document maintenance.
• Reduces carbon footprint by saving trees through elimination of paper usage.
• Documents can be accessed anytime from anywhere. All that is required is a proper internet connection.
• Expedites document processing in cases such as passport creation, income tax filing etc.

There is absolutely no doubt that the DigiLocker service initiated by PM Narendra Modi is going to revolutionize the way India operates. It was a long awaited move and India is all set to become digital.

Store Driving License and RC in DigiLocker App

One of the fundamental rules of driving is to carry all the driving related documents in your car. Any time the police can call you up and ask you to show the papers of your driving. You must produce them with it when asked because they are going to prove that you are legally of driving age, and the vehicle is legitimate and not lifted, etc.

However, at some time everyone has forgotten to carry them with themselves. Then we have thanked the lord that on that very day we have not been caught by the uniforms. Why take the extra trouble when you can avert it using the apps on your phone?

DigiLocker launched by Government

Yes, now the government has provided a one stop solution for all of these hassles. Everyone remembers to carry their cell phone when they leave the house. So there will be one app where you can store all these files into – the DigiLocker app.

This app will be linked to the Aadhar card of the citizens and will help them to store all government related documents at one place.

How to upload your documents DigiLocker

To upload your driving license and registration papers:

• Download the DigiLocker App on your mobile phone and then sign up and create your account with the app. You will need to provide your mobile number.
• The app will send you an OTP (One Time Password). Input that and create a username and password to get started with the usage.

Note:- it has been heard that Digilocker is having issues and site seems to be down for some time. Please be patient and try after some time. There has been a lot of traffic in digilocker recently.

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