Digital Signature and Aadhaar based eSign

What is a Digital Signature?

A digital signature guarantees the authenticity of an electronic document or message in digital communication and uses encryption techniques to provide proof of original and unmodified documentation. As per law in India the PKI based digital signatures and Aadhaar based eSign are legally acceptable for signing electronic documents.

Difference between DSC based digital signatures and Aadhaar esign signatures:

Digital signatures are signatures done using digital signature certificate (DSC) issued to the signer by Government authorised Certifying Agencies (CA's). The DSC consists of a set of unique keys - a private key and public key. The signer has to use a DSC that is stored on a USB e-token in order to sign. While signing the signer needs to insert the USB e-token containing DSC to the laptop/ PC where the signing will take place and sign the required documents by entering the DSC password. Digital signing done using this PKI technology has been provided legal status in India as per the Indian IT Act 2000.

Aadhaar-based eSign technology has been initiated by the Government of India recently to allow Indian citizens to sign documents instantly without having to procure a DSC. Any person with a valid Aadhaar card and a registered mobile number can eSign documents from anywhere, anytime. eSign service saves costs and time required to sign a document and it is also as legally valid as a handwritten signature or a digital signature done using digital signature certificate. To eSign a document, the signer only needs two things – an Aadhaar number and an Aadhaar-registered mobile number. With just these two, you can eSign a document instantly from any location, anytime. While signing the documents using eSign, the signer views the documents, enters his/ her Aadhaar number, receives and submits the OTP that he/ she receives on registered mobile number and the signature gets done.

Which type of signature is useful for different types of scenarios?

A digital signature is ideal for signers who need to sign documents on regular basis or want to sign documents in bulk or want to sign and exchange documents on international level. Eg: In a scenario where company signatories are signing documents like invoices, form16, HR letters, agreements, PO's, contracts etc. on a regular basis, a digital signature based signing is ideal.

An eSign service is ideal for processes where signers need to sign documents instantly but not regularly and hence do not want to invest time and money in procuring DSC. Eg: In case where customers of Organisations need to sign documents once in a while like application forms and documents, account opening forms, signing for acceptance letters by employees , one time contracts and agreements etc. an eSign is ideal.