Digitally Yours

Though the concept of digital signatures was introduced in India in early 2002, it has failed to make an impact as yet largely because of adoption issues and a lack of awareness. That may soon change though.

Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) has applied for a license to operate as a certifying authority (CA) for digital signatures, and it believes that its 2.5 million-strong customer base is the reason why its venture will be successful. In fact, it is the fear of losing this subscriber base–which is being wooed by private operators offering new services–that has forced MTNL to upgrade its bouquet of services, of which digital signatures is one.

MTNL plans to invest nearly Rs 12 crore in the initiative, and when the corporation does start offering the service, its subscribers will be able to avail a host of value-added services–from recharging their pre-paid accounts to paying bills. At present there are four CAs in India. SafeScrypt was the first CA in India when it got a license in 2002, while TCS, NIC and IDBRT were given licenses this year. The motive behind designating government bodies like NIC and IDBRT as CAs was to enable government departments to usher in the culture of paperless offices and thus provide a much-needed boost to e-governance initiatives.

However, the adoption of digital signatures in government departments is almost negligible. Only a few nationalized banks have shown some interest in the adoption of this technology and that too because of the pressures of competition, as digital signatures were gaining ground in private banks like ICICI and HDFC. Thus, it seems clear that MTNL will have to do a lot more than the other government institutions to popularize the adoption of digital signatures.

One reason why digital signatures have not taken off in India is that there is no uniform approach towards regulating the use of digital signatures. As of now, digital electronic signatures are legal but not binding on anyone. And unless and until it is not binding, the adoption of the digital signature technology will remain an unfulfilled dream.

RAHUL GUPTA/CNS in Mumbai