Guidelines for Usage of Digital Signatures in e-Governance

Contents
1. INTRODUCTION _________________________________________________4
2. PURPOSE OF DOCUMENT ________________________________________4
3. TARGET AUDIENCE ______________________________________________4
4. OVERVIEW OF DIGITAL DIGNATURES ______________________________5
4.1 DIGITAL SIGNATURES................................................................................ 5
4.2 DIGITAL SIGNATURE VERSUS HANDWRITTEN SIGNATURES............................ 5
4.3 DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ELECTRONIC SIGNATURES AND DIGITAL SIGNATURES.. 6
4.4 OVERVIEW OF HOW DIGITAL SIGNATURES WORK.......................................... 6
4.5 LEGAL VALIDITY OF DIGITAL SIGNATURES ................................................... 7
5. PUBLIC KEY INFRASTRUCTURE IN INDIA____________________________8
5.1 DIGITAL SIGNATURE CERTIFICATES .......................................................... 10
5.2 CLASSES OF DIGITAL SIGNATURE CERTIFICATES........................................ 11
5.3 TYPES OF DIGITAL SIGNATURE CERTIFICATES ........................................... 11
5.4 CERTIFICATE REVOCATION ...................................................................... 12
5.5 CERTIFICATE REVOCATION LIST (CRL) ..................................................... 12
5.6 DIGITAL SIGNATURE CERTIFICATE VERIFICATION ....................................... 12
6. PROCUREMENT OF DIGITAL SIGNATURE CERTIFICATES_____________13
6.1 OVERVIEW OF THE PROCESS ................................................................... 13
6.2 PROCEDURE FOR PROCURING DIGITAL SIGNATURE CERTIFICATES............... 14
6.3 MEDIA FOR STORAGE OF DIGITAL SIGNATURE CERTIFICATES...................... 15
6.4 COST .................................................................................................... 15
6.5 TIME TAKEN........................................................................................... 16
6.6 PRECAUTIONS WHILE USING DIGITAL SIGNATURE CERTIFICATES.................. 16
7. E-GOVERNANCE APPLICATIONS USING DIGITAL SIGNATURES________16
8. USAGE SCENARIOS FOR A CITIZEN FOR DIGITAL SIGNATURES _______16
8.1 CONTEXT AND OVERVIEW........................................................................ 16
8.2 USE CASE SCENARIO FOR APPLICATION FOR A G2C SERVICE...................... 16
8.3 USE CASE SCENARIO FOR VERIFICATION OF PRINTED COPY........................ 17
9. CASE STUDIES OF SUCCESSFUL DIGITAL SIGNATURE IMPLEMENTATIONS 19