DigiLocker is a cloud-based platform to store important official documents in virtual form, offering users round the clock access without having to carry them physically.
You can store all your important documents like driving licence, school marksheets, Aadhaar, PAN Card, insurance papers, NPS statement, etc., in a DigiLocker, a cloud-based storage facility developed by the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) and is one of the government’s flagship Digital India initiatives.
Currently, there are 171.76 million DigiLocker users, with 5.62 billion documents issued under different categories, as per the DigiLocker website. The number of users has been growing rapidly over the years. For instance, in 2016, there were only 1.2 million users, with 0.0112 billion documents issued.
What Are The Benefits Of DigiLocker?
The DigiLocker initiative aims for paperless governance by making the issuance and verification process of documents online. One can fetch, upload, and share the documents round-the-clock with the facility. Documents such as Aadhaar, driving licence, educational certificates, PAN, etc., are fetched from the respective government departments for safekeeping and for later use. Here are some benefits of a DigiLocker.
Single Window: DigiLocker aims to empower people digitally by providing access to their documents issued by different government authorities in one place.
Authentic Documents: Documents fetched from various authorities on the DigiLocker platform are authentic as these are sourced directly from the official source. As per Rule 9A of the Information Technology (Preservation and Retention of Information by Intermediaries providing Digital Locker facilities) Rules, 2016, the documents on DigiLocker are as authentic as the physical documents.
Offers Convenience: As DigiLocker is also available on the mobile app, it offers people the convenience to store and use their important documents on the go.
Round-The-Clock Availability: It keeps a digital record of the documents on the cloud and as such, they can be assessed anytime anywhere. This facility provides people convenience as they do not need to carry the documents everywhere.
How To Open A DigiLocker?
The first step is to sign up for the platform using a mobile phone number. One can also use the Aadhaar number for signing up.
You can open a DigiLocker account through its website or mobile app.
After inserting the mobile number in the sign-up box, the user will get a one-time password (OTP) as part of a 2-factor authentication. Once done, the user can set a 6-digit security PIN for DigiLocker.
After the PIN is set, the account is ready for use.
After signing in, one can check the issued document section and fetch documents issued by different government entities such as the Income Tax Department, Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority, the state and central board of secondary education, the Ministry for Road and Transport, etc., within seconds.
These documents are genuine as they are sourced directly from the respective government authorities.
Remember that you can open only one DigiLocker account using your mobile number if the phone number is not linked to Aadhaar. But if you already have a DigiLocker account linked with Aadhaar, you can open multiple accounts using the same mobile number.