The Government of India, under its resolve to ease availing government facilities, has launched the Digital India initiative. It has taken a number of steps to bring everything under public domain and make it easy and quick for all to avail government services. One such example is the DigiLocker. DigiLocker is a digital locking service provided to Indian citizens where they can store their documents and use it wherever they need it.
Users can download Aadhaar, PAN and other documents in their DigiLocker app directly from the agency. These documents can be shared instead of self-attested copies of documents. A number of documents can also be uploaded in a DigiLocker wallet in jpg and other formats. The data is stored in the cloud and can be accessed from the app as well as through the website thus reducing the necessity to carry original documents. You do not have to download e-Aadhaar from UIDAI.
What is DigiLocker?
DigiLocker, the cloud-based digital locker, managed by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, is free of cost for all users. Initially, users got a maximum of 10 MB storage capacity which has now been upgraded to 1 GB for every user. All DigiLocker accounts are linked with the Aadhaar number of the user. Thus, one user can have only one DigiLocker account.
Users can e-Sign their uploaded documents as well using their Aadhaar credentials. This helps in authenticating the document submitted by the user to the requester online. The user has to set a password to login to the account. Both issued as well as uploaded documents can be shared using the DigiLocker app. You can search for the department to get your documents issued on the app. A number of documents can be downloaded in the app from various authorities such as Aadhaar, PAN, driving license, vehicle registration number, LPG connection subscription vouchers, ICSE certificates, etc. to name a few.
There are 41 issuer organisations at present that issue documents to users of the DigiLocker app. 18 requestor organisations have attached themselves with DigiLocker. Almost 1 Crore accounts have been created for this app. Users have uploaded around 1.5 Crore documents in the DigiLocker cloud.
How to install and setup DigiLocker app in your smartphone?
You can store your documents in DigiLocker. But the benefits of the facility can be availed only when it is installed on your phone through which you can access documents anywhere and anytime. Here's how to install and setup the DigiLocker app in your smartphone:
- Visit the Play store to download the DigiLocker app.
- Click on the Install option to install the app in your smartphone
- Give required permissions to the app
- Now open the app in your smartphone to set it up
- You can sign up beforehand as well
- For those who already have a DigiLocker account, they can click on the Sign in option
- Enter your username and password to login to your account
- In case you have forgotten the user id, you can find it with the help of your Aadhaar number as an OTP is sent to your registered mobile number
- In case you have forgotten your password, you can reset it with the help of Aadhaar by sending the OTP to the mobile number registered with UIDAI
How to make an account in DigiLocker?
In order to create an account in DigiLocker, you have to follow these steps:
- You can register for DigiLocker at the official website
- You are asked to enter your mobile number registered with Aadhaar
- Now enter the OTP sent to your registered mobile number and click on Verify
- Now you will be asked to create a username and password of your choice
- Click on the Signup button to continue
- Once you sign up, you can use the details to login to your DigiLocker account
- In case you forget your user ID or password, you can retrieve it online with the help of your Aadhaar number
- You can directly sign in as well by simply using your Aadhaar number
- Open the Login page to Sign in to your DigiLocker account
- Enter your Aadhaar number in the space provided and click on Verify
- An OTP is sent to the registered mobile number of the user
- Enter the OTP in the field to login to your DigiLocker account
How to download PAN in your DigiLocker account?
A number of documents can be stored in DigiLocker such as PAN, vehicle registration certificates, driving license, etc. You can simply upload a scanned copy of your PAN in DigiLocker, but that will not be accepted as an authentic document. You have to get your document issued by the Income Tax Department. Here's how you can download PAN in your DigiLocker app:
- Login to the DigiLocker app on your smartphone
- Click on the Search icon present in the bottom right corner of the app
- Search for "Income Tax Department, Govt. of India, All States"
- Click on "PAN Verification Record"
- You can search your PAN by entering your PAN and gender
- Tick on the consent clause and click on "Get Document"
- Your PAN will be downloaded to your DigiLocker app
- This document can be shared with requesters as well whenever required
How to download Aadhaar in your DigiLocker account?
Users can download their Aadhaar card to their DigiLocker app as well. They have to follow these simple steps to download Aadhaar to their DigiLocker account:
Login to your DigiLocker account using your user ID and password
- Click the search option in the bottom right corner of the app
- Search for "Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI)"
- Click on the Aadhaar option
- Tick the disclaimer and provide your consent for downloading Aadhaar
- An OTP is sent to the mobile number registered with Aadhaar
- Enter the OTP and click on Continue
- Your Aadhaar will be downloaded in your DigiLocker app
- You can find your documents in the "Issued Documents" section
- You can either "View" your document or "Download" it
- When you get your details updated in Aadhaar, you can select the "Refresh" option to refresh the data of Aadhaar downloaded in the DigiLocker app.
(With inputs from Paisabazaar.com)
