Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Where digital signatures (including Aadhaar eSign) can and cannot be used?



In India, the Information Technology Act 2000, gives digital signatures the legal validity as a signature at par with physical signatures. Digital signatures enable digitization of processes making them more efficient and convenient for all parties involved. Until recently digital signatures have been used by a very limited set of people for a very limited set of activities. This is because digital signatures have been seen as a complicated piece of technology that required the use of specialized software tools and process for its work. This has kept the technology from getting mass adoption even though it has immense potential.

All this is going to change with the advent of Aadhaar based eSign technology that enables any Aadhaar holder to do a digital signature without having to install any software or purchase any signature/certificate from a certifying agency. A digital signature can be placed on a document by just an Aadhaar authentication using biometric authentication methods or by OTP.  

This is a great opportunity for businesses in India to digitize their process and take advantage of the operational efficiency and cost effectiveness offered by using fully digital processes. Businesses will have to look at the processes that are ideally suited for the use of digital signatures without causing a legal fallout. This brings us to our question, are there cases in which digital signatures cannot be used? 

Wednesday, March 2, 2016

UIDAI relaxes eligibility criteria for entitties to get KUA / AUA registration



UIDAI relaxes eligibility criteria for entities to get KUA (Kyc User Agency)  /AUA (Authentication User agency) registration with the latest notification dated January 28, 2016. This makes onboarding as KUA /AUA easier for many regulated entities. Earlier many regulated entities were not included in Category 2 (Regulated Service Providers), so only entities with lots of customer base and turnover were able to become KUA. Now with this new changes following type of regulated entities too were included in category 2 for easy access for KUA registration.

  • All types of Banks including Payment Banks, Small Finance Banks, and Non-Scheduled Urban co-operative banks
  • NBFC 's (Non-Banking Financial Company)
  • Regulated by CCA - Certifying authority
  • Regulated by CCA - Digital Locker providers
  • Regulated by CCA - E-Sign Providers
  • Regulated by SEBI - KRA (KYC registration agency)
  • Regulated by SEBI - Depository Participant (DP)
  • Regulated by SEBI - Asset Management Company (AMC)
  • Regulated by SEBI - Trading Exchanges
  • Regulated by SEBI - Registrar and transfer agents
  • Regulated by National Housing Bank