Imagine a life without carrying a pen and no printed application forms required to be filled in, for opening an account in a bank or for getting a PAN card. It was the signature put by applicant on the form that was preventing them from going online. But now, it is possible to replace hand written signature by electronic signature, which can be put in documents in electronic form. C-DAC offers a service called eSign that will allow citizens to sign documents electronically, thereby saving time and efforts for them.
The objective of eSign service is to offer on-line service to citizens for instant signing of their documents securely in a legally acceptable form. Two major challenges involved are (a) authentication of the user and (b) Trusted method of signing. Aadhaar based authentication is carried out to address the first challenge and Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) is used to securely sign the user document and establish the trust.
e-Hastakshar: C-DAC's On-line Digital Signing Service
- e-Hastakshar offers on-line platform to citizens for instant signing of their documents securely in a legally acceptable form, under the Indian IT Act 2000 and various Rules and Regulations therein.
- C-DAC through its e-Hastakshar initiative enables citizens with valid Aadhaar ID and registered mobile number to carryout digital signing of their documents on-line.
- The digital certificate offered by C-DAC CA through the eSign service to the applicant is for one-time signing usage and shall be of class "Aadhaar-eKYC-OTP".
- C-DAC utilizes the service of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) for on-line e-authentication and Aadhaar eKYC Service.
- As a provider of Digital Signature Certificates (DSC) and eSign services, C-DAC plays the role of a Certifying Authority (CA) under the Controller of Certifying Authorities (CCA).
