Stored docs on DigiLocker is now valid for check-ins on airport

DigiLocker, a government-owned document storage platform, has made a breakthrough in the digital revolution in the country.

“Ministry of Civil Aviation will now officially accept DigiLocker docs as valid ID documents in airports, security control of airline passengers etc.,” reads a tweet by DigiLocker.

This essentially means that a person using DigiLocker does not have to carry their hard copies (original) ID Proofs to the airport, they can just show the documents stored on the platform to the airport security and expected to be allowed entry.

In July this year, Indian Railways had taken a similar step and allowed Aadhar and other ID proofs saved on DigiLocker to be considered as valid documents.

There has been a cloud of uncertainty regarding the validity of the documents in several spaces, whereby a lot of complaints were made by people grieving about a government authority not accepting documents saved in DigiLocker.

With airports officially accepting DigiLocker documents, the platform can vouch for its credibility and the authorisation becomes somewhat certain.

However, it is important to note that only the documents in the issued documents segment of DigiLocker will be a valid ID proof. All authorities have the right to deny verification on the basis of uploaded documents, i.e., the documents uploaded by the user himself under the “Uploaded documents” segment.

This news also brings motivation for people all over the country with access to digital world and internet can become a part of the paperless economy and can carry around documents with ease with no confusion regarding their validity.

As of now the DigiLocker websites boasts of over 15.3 million registered users storing around 3.36 billion issued or searchable documents, 20.6 million uploaded, and 0.65 million eSigned docs.

Most users are male and belong to the 21-30 age group. For Aadhar linked documents, Tamil Nadu brings most registrations, 0.46 million to be precise; and Meghalaya the least with barely 711 users.

While these numbers look significant, they are expected to grow with this move. This makes it extremely important for the government to maintain the safety and security of the users, not make any privacy breach, and not use the platform for surveillance purposes.

Meanwhile, the usage of the application is highly concentrated in certain demographics while almost absent in others. And since the application does hold various merits, it is ideal that the government takes several steps to create awareness about the product and it's role in the Digital India Movement, as well as develop infrastructure to ensure that the accessibility increases.

Further, it will be interesting to see if the acceptance of DigiLocker, the flagship product of Digital India Movement, by Civil Aviation authority brings a chain reaction, whereby more authorities start accepting the application as a source of valid ID proofs as well.