DigiLocker now integrates with UIDAI – What does it mean for you?
On Friday, it was announced that DigiLocker integrated with UIDAI (Unique Identification Authority of India), marking the biggest document integration for the former till date. The UIDAI will now be a registered issuer of DigiLocker, joining over 20 others.
An initiative under Digital India, DigiLocker or digital locker is essentially a service that provides a secure and safe electronic space for the storing of critical documents for Indian citizens. Being a part of the India Stack, this integration between DigiLocker and UIDAI means that over 1.09 billion people in India, the number so far covered under the Aadhaar initiative, can now access their digital Aadhaar in real-time through the DigiLocker desktop and mobile applications.
According to the official DigiLocker blog, among other national digital documents already available in DigiLocker are 290 million Driving Licenses and Vehicle Registration Certificates (issued by the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways), 150 million LPG records (issued by the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas), and 10 million CBSE mark sheets and certificates.
So, how does it work?
This particular move marks a big push for the digitisation of digital records in the country.
The UIDAI has, in the past, issued all Aadhaar card holders with a digitised version of the card, called eAadhaar. This can also be downloaded from the UIDAI website after proper authentication of oneself.
Through the DigiLocker integration, one can get the digital copy of their Aadhaar directly in their DigiLocker account, without taking the risk of storing it (on one's computer or cloud account) and losing it.
The blog further says that all a customer needs to do is to sign up for a DigiLocker and sync it with Aadhaar – the digital Aadhaar automatically shows up in your issued documents section. It can be shared and used like any DigiLocker document.
What's more, another advantage is that your digital Aadhaar now has a fixed and secure storage location – you know where to look for it when it's needed.
The following are some key graphs on the uptake of DigiLocker:
Month-wise registrations
In January, the total registration of DigiLockers stood at 4.2 million, according to official data. This is less than 100,000 of an increase since December 2016.
Age-wise registration
According to data, the highest number of subscribers to DigiLockers are in the age bracket of 21-30, with close to 575,000 subscribers. The second highest subscriber base, meanwhile, is the 31-40 category, with over 380,000 subscribers.
Monthly uploaded documents
On the monthly upload front, official data states that there were a total of approximately six million documents uploaded in January 2017. This number stood at 5.68 million in December, therefore, indicating no substantial increase.
Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh have the highest user bases, with almost 1.8 million registered users each. With 4.2 million users in the country, this linkage with UIDAI will lead to more signups for DigiLockers. At present, the country has 24 issuer organisations of DigiLockers.
In September last year, it was also announced that DigiLocker partnered with road transport and highways ministry to allow users to store vehicle documents in the digital locker.