Synopsis Launched in 2015, DigiLocker is a secure cloud based platform for storage, sharing and verification of documents and certificates. So far, 145. 95 million users have used DigiLocker and 5. 62 billion documents have been stored and issued. ETtech In what will further expand the scope of digital public goods and ease know-your-customer ( KYC ) processes and individual and organisation's compliance burden, the government has proposed major expansion for DigiLocker and announced a new digital public infrastructure (DPI) for agriculture. Launched in 2015, DigiLocker is a secure cloud based platform for storage, sharing and verification of documents and certificates. So far, 145. 95 million users have used DigiLocker and 5. 62 billion documents have been stored and issued. Union minister for electronics and IT Ashwini Vaishnaw said, "DigiLocker is a very effective tool. . . At least three countries are on the verge of starting implementation of DigiLocker in their countries. It is such an effective system as a part of the Digital India vision. " Aimed at the concept of paperless governance, it reduces the administrative overhead by minimising the use of paper and curtailing the verification process. Issued documents available via DigiLocker are fetched in real-time directly from the issuing agency. Budget 2023 Budget 2023: Key announcements & highlights You'll end up paying 40% of your gross monthly . . . Tax slabs rejigged; rebate limit raised in new . . . Union Budget 2023: What gets cheaper, what gets. . . Budget 2023-24: Where is the govt spending more. . . A pragmatic budget that focuses on green and in. . . Modi govt makes a strong political pitch in Bud. . . Budget focuses on domestic consumption, public . . . Budget: Govt announces 150-pc hike in outlay of. . . Budget allocates Rs 4,692 crore for information. . . Union Budget 2023: NPCIL gets Rs 9,410 cr as In. . . Govt proposes changes in Banking Regulation Act. . . 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 It acts as a secure document exchange platform like payment gateway between trusted issuer and trusted requester/verifier with the consent of the citizen. It also provides a verification module enabling government agencies to verify data directly from issuers after obtaining user consent. To enable more fintech innovative services, the scope of documents available in DigiLocker for individuals will be expanded and a new Entity DigiLocker will be set up for use by micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), large business and charitable trusts. Discover the stories of your interest Blockchain 5 Stories Cyber-safety 7 Stories Fintech 9 Stories E-comm 9 Stories ML 8 Stories Edtech 6 Stories This will be towards storing and sharing documents online securely, whenever needed, with various authorities, regulators, banks and other business entities. RS Sharma, former IT Secretary who launched DigiLocker describing it as a ‘private space on a public cloud’ said digitally signed electronic KYC and business documents holds a huge economic value. This will bring down operational cost of lending as digitally signed identity documents like Aadhaar are irrefutable, he said. “Any hassle-free digital invention that makes life easy for everybody saves cost. For example, electronic KYC for getting mobile connections has reduced the cost of getting SIMS. Similarly, it has reduced the cost of opening bank accounts and that is why in the JAM (Government e Marketplace) we opened millions of accounts,” said Sharma. JAM (short for Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile) trinity refers to the government's initiative to link Jan Dhan accounts, mobile numbers and Aadhaar cards of Indians to plug the leakages of government subsidies. He added that this was made possible because of the reduction in costs of storage, transportation, paper costs and photocopying. Since the transaction costs go down, it makes small value transactions also viable, he said. Amit Ranjan, the architect of DigiLocker told ET that it will be first introduced as a pilot and then gradually rolled out to more entities. He said there was a lot of demand for the cloud-based platform for a company-level service for a “one-stop solution for storing transaction documents and entity documents”. “It will bring down costs, make processes paperless with less red tape,” Ranjan said, while applying for loans or a government scheme. A simplified process for updating the identity and address of individuals maintained by various government agencies, regulators and regulated entities will be established using DigiLocker service and Aadhaar as foundational identity, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Wednesday while announcing the Union Budget 2023 . The KYC process will be simplified by adopting a ‘risk-based’ instead of ‘one size fits all’ approach. The financial sector regulators will also be encouraged to have a KYC system fully amenable to meet the needs of Digital India. Akash Sinha, Co-founder & CEO, Cashfree Payments, said, a simplified KYC process, and adopting a ‘risk-based’ approach as opposed to a ‘one size fits all’ outlook will ensure accurate and sophisticated verification and in-turn regulated operations in the financial services space. Alok Mittal, CEO, Indifi Technologies, a Gurugram-based lending player told ET given that fintechs are playing a key role in credit inclusion, expanding the scope of digilocker will enable more seamless finance to underserved populations, and help bring down the operating cost of lending. Mittal explained that cost structure directly translates not to increased profitability but to increased coverage. Indifi, for example, has so far disbursed more than 47,000 loans and across more than 650 cities. It said it can now use entity DigiLocker to disburse loan to a kirana store (neighbourhood mom-and-pop store), for example, if its address proof and Udyam Aadhaar (MSME certificate) is available in DigiLocker. Aditya Kumar, cofounder and CEO, NIRO , said that the expansion of Digilocker services will be a boon for the fintech sector further facilitating seamless and low-cost access to authentic information about consumers. This will allow fintechs to increase segment coverage, reduce turn-around-times and offer cost savings which can be passed onto consumers, Kumar said. Ranjit Barthakur, Founding Director, The Balipara Foundation, said that India is one of the most climate-vulnerable countries in the world today. For the past few years, changing weather patterns ranging from unusual heat to unusual rainfall patterns have made it increasingly difficult for farmers to plan their crops. As a result, crop damage has been on the rise – a pattern that is also playing out globally. One of the key factors at play here is the lack of adequate intelligence for farmers. Hence, the push for digital public infrastructure for the agricultural sector is a highly welcome intervention. “Better market intelligence will enable farmers to invest resources accordingly and facilitate robust and informed decision-making that is up to date,” Barthakur said. Don’t miss out on ET Prime stories! Get your daily dose of business updates on WhatsApp. click here! Wednesday, 01 Feb, 2023 Experience Your Economic Times Newspaper, The Digital Way! Read Complete Print Edition » Front Page Pure Politics Companies Economy More Adani Enterprises FPO Fully Subscribed on Final Day The ₹20,000-crore follow-on public offering (FPO) of Adani Enterprises Ltd (AEL) was fully subscribed on the final day of the offer Tuesday, January 31, thanks to late demand from family offices, corporates, and foreign investors. How Gautam Adani Lost $75b Market Value but Pulled off $2. 5b Issue after Short Attack It was around 5. 30 in the morning last Wednesday when senior Adani officials got the breaking news, hours before the anchor book — the institutional pillar of any issuance — of the ₹20,000-crore ($2. 5 billion) follow-on offer (FPO) of Adani Enterprises Ltd was to open. Flipkart Esop Sale: Big PeDay for Nigam, Chari The cofounders of PhonePe, Sameer Nigam and Rahul Chari, are expected to receive individual cash payouts of $20-25 million by completely liquidating their stock options in erstwhile parent company Flipkart, according to people aware of the development. Read More News on Digilocker Expansion kyc niro budget budget 2023 Stay on top of technology and startup news that matters. Subscribe to our daily newsletter for the latest and must-read tech news, delivered straight to your inbox. . . . more less ETPrime stories of the day Real Estate Interest rates are rising, so are rental yields. 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