Q. Where can I use digital signatures?

Ans. Digital signatures can be used as below:

• To sign documents digitally
• In E-Tendering process
• In E-Procurement process
• At MCA website to sign forms (Ministry of corporate affairs)
• At DGFT website to sign forms related to import/export (Department of Foreign Trade)
• At Income Tax website to sign ITR, Audit reports

Q. What is digital signatures (DSC)?

Ans. A digital signature is an electronic form of a signature that can be used to authenticate the identity of the signer of a document, and also ensure that the original content of the message or document that has been sent is unchanged. Digital signatures are easily transportable and cannot be imitated by someone else.

Q. What does a DSC contains?

Ans. A Digital Signature Certificate digitally contain the identity of an individual/device with a pair of electronic keys - public and private keys - and this association is endorsed by the CA (certifying authority). The certificate contains information about a user's identity (their name, pin code, country, email address, the date the certificate was issued and the name of the Certifying Authority that issued it.

Q. What is the legal validity of digital signatures in India?

Ans. From the enactment of Information Technology Act 2000 in India, Digital Signature Certificates are legally valid in India. Digital Signature Certificates are issued by licensed Certifying Authorities under the Ministry of Information Technology, Government of India as per the Information Technology Act.

Q. Who is a Certifying Authority (CA)?

Ans. A Certifying Authority is a trusted agency whose main responsibility is to issue, revoke, renew and provide directories for Digital Signature Certificates. According to Section 24 of the Information Technology Act 2000, "Certifying Authority" means a person/organisation who has been granted a license to issue Digital Signature Certificates.

Q. How can I apply a digital signature and what is issuing time?

Ans. DSC can be applied by Aadhar e-verification process or provide us a simple application form with ID & Address of holder, we will apply it then you will need to do some verification and then it is ready to install in a secured token (look like USB pen drive). Usual time to get issued a DSC is around 12-24 hours.

Q. What are the various type & classes of digital signatures?

Ans. DSC can be issued as ‘Signing only’ or ‘Signing and Encryption both’ (widely used in secured tendering). There are three classes of DSC: • Class 1- Class 1 certificates shall be issued for both business personnel and private individuals use. This provides a basic level of assurance relevant to environments where there are risks and consequences of data compromise. Class-1 certificates are not widely used in now a day. • Class 2- These certificates will be issued for both business personnel and private individuals use. Where risks and consequences of data compromise are moderate. Class 2 certificate is widely used in various form-filling, online registration, email attestation, income tax filing and etc. • Class 3- This certificate will be issued to individuals as well as organizations. As these are high assurance certificates, where risks and consequences of data compromise are high. This certificate can be used anywhere including e-tendering, e-bid, e-procurement or other govt

Q. Whether a foreigner can get issued digital signature in India?

Ans. Yes, by providing valid copy of ID & Address (like Passport, Visa, Bank Issued address proof etc), DSC for foreign nationals can get issued.