Soon, there will be no need to keep important documents related to education and property in a physical format as the information and technology (IT) department of the state government has developed an e-locker programme linked with Aadhaar to keep these documents safe. The institute or agency will be able to access it whenever needed by using a dedicated link. Currently, the project is operational on a pilot basis in Wardha district.
“Maharashtra is far ahead in e-governance and the Central government has praised it for its revolutionary work in the IT field. E-locker is a new programme that has also been appreciated by the Union government recently,” said Virendra Singh, director of the IT department.
Elaborating on the programme, Mr Singh told The Asian Age, “Every Aadhaar enrolled person can open an e-locker facility with a dedicated portal. The Aadhaar number will be the keyword to open the account. He or she can put all their scanned documents in that locker and produce them whenever needed.”
“There will be no need to carry all certificates such as caste, caste validity, income, marriage, birth and death, 7/12 extract of land and several other documents necessary for educational and job purposes in the physical format,” he added.
He said that when a person applies for any of the certificates or document at one ‘Setu’ office at a gram panchayat, tehsil or collectorate office, the same would be put in the applicant’s e-locker.
When questioned regarding the possible misuse of an e-locker by officials or institutions, Mr Singh said, “It will be protected by a one time password (OTP) and beneficiaries’ registered cellphone number.”
“A two-way password and a dedicated link will be provided to educational institutes to ensure that they can access the educational and caste certificate of a student from the e-locker at the time of admission,” said Mr Singh.
“The project is under trial and a pilot project has been operational in the Wardha district. It will be implemented across the state when Aadhaar enrollment is completed,” he said adding, “At present 95 per cent enrollment for Aadhaar has been completed.