Platform to enable auto-update of ID credentials on India’s DigiLocker coming soon

A platform is being developed by the government of India through which users who have their ID documents stored on DigiLocker can easily update them using their Aadhaar biometric ID.

As reported by The Economic Times, the system will make it possible for users of DigiLocker to have their addresses and demographic information auto-updated across government departments. Users will also be able to choose which ministry they want their information updated for at any given time and without any breach of privacy.

The new platform will operate on consent framework, meaning users will have to give their consent if they intend to use that system in having their details auto-updated. This will also require the consent of each ministry concerned, the outlet notes.

The report notes that the platform is still at the level of conceptualization and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology is said to be consulting with some government bodies such as the ministries of transport, rural development and the election commission of India on issues to be factored into the concept.

Government officials say the first phase of the plan, as a matter of priority, will target agencies that issue ID documents such as driver’s licenses, ration cards, and voter’s cards, while other documents like passports will be part of the second phase.

The government believes the platform will save citizens the stress of having to update their details with every ministry, and it will also save the ministries time and cost and reduce cases of fake documents.

As part of the plan, ministries will develop their APIs in collaboration with the Ministry of Electronics so that they can get alerts individually each time an update is completed.

This development comes as India says it is working on a plan to expand the DigiLocker application to businesses and other organizations to allow them manage digital documents and perform identity authentication and verification using Aadhaar biometrics.

At the moment, the DigiLocker is largely consumer-centric, with about 151 million users.

Article Topics

Aadhaar  |  biometrics  |  DigiLocker  |  digital ID  |  government services  |  identity document  |  India