Soon, you will not have to carry physical copies of your identify proofs while undertaking a train journey. The Railways have announced that it will accept soft copies of Aadhaar and driving licence that are stored in the DigiLocker.
In a communication sent to all zonal principal chief commercial managers, the Railways indicated that these two identify proofs will be treated as valid sources of documentation for a passenger.
"If a passenger shows Aadhaar or driving licence from the 'issued documents' section by logging into his DigiLocker account, the same should be considered as valid proof of identity," the order said.
However, the documents uploaded by the passenger himself in the uploaded documents section will not be considered as valid proof of identity, the order clarified.
DigiLocker which was introduced as part of the Narendra Modi’s government’s Digital India drive, can presently store digital driving licences and Aadhaar.
In a tie-up with the CBSE, DigiLocker also provides digital versions of mark sheets to students.
DigiLocker subscribers can also integrate their Permanent Account Number (PAN).
What is DigiLocker?
Aimed at paperless governance, DigiLocker is a digital platform for issuance and verification of documents and certificates, thereby eliminating the need for physical documents. Users who sign up for a DigiLocker account get a dedicated cloud storage space that is linked to their Aadhaar (UIDAI) number.
DigiLocker is the national Digital Locker System launched by the government where individuals can register using their Aadhaar number.
The DigiLocker website states, “Organisations that are registered with Digital Locker can push electronic copies of documents and certificates (e.g. driving licence, voter ID, school certificates) directly into citizens lockers. Citizens can also upload scanned copies of their legacy documents in their accounts. These legacy documents can be electronically signed using the eSign facility.”
Documents like property papers, medical reports, PAN card, passport, tax papers, birth or marriage certificates, as also those related to investments like mutual funds, shares, insurance can be uploaded in the digital locker. Maximum file size allowed for each document is 10MB.
The DigiLocker offers the following benefits: Citizens can access their digital documents anywhere, anytime and share it online, thereby saving time and providing convenience; Administrative overhead of Government departments gets reduced by minimising the use of paper; Digital Locker makes it easier to validate the authenticity of documents as they are issued directly by the registered issuers.