NeGD chief calls for common framework to enhance document accessibility on DigiLocker

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There is a need to work with State governments to come up with a common framework for making documents more accessible on DigiLocker, a government wallet that gives access to digital versions of various documents, CEO of National e-Governance Division (NeGD) Abhishek Singh said on June 13.

Singh who was speaking on the panel "Digital Document Exchange for efficient service delivery" on the second day of Global DPI Summit, Pune said, "For documents which are issued by the central government, like whether Aadhaar Income Tax record, or any academic certificate, the standards are clearly defined."

"However, when it comes to documents which are under the purview of the state government, for example, birth certificates or any other document there, we do need to come up with a common framework or common minimum standards," Singh added.

The NeGD CEO said explained how they faced a similar problem with onboarding academic-related documents initially. He said that universities wanted to retain the format of their certificates.

"So what we have done with UGC, is to define the minimum number of fields that has to be a part of the digital document," he said adding that there is a need to agree on a minimum level of data for documents that are associated with State governments for digitising them for Digilocker.

"While the technology for ensuring availability and accessibility of documents and data is the easier part of it, the real challenge is getting various states and various entities on board and getting them to agree to the common format and then sharing information," he said.

He said that the same logic would also apply to any country when they adopt such a framework. "They also have to customize it. It's not that one size will fit all. Every country will have their own local law, local regulations requirements," he added.