The Prime Minister of India announced last week what he called the Digital India Vision, a future in which India connects citizens and ground level innovation with digital gateways. The aim is to make governance, national programs and information simpler for India's citizens. And part of the presentation included a reference to eSigning as a means to save time and make life simpler for the average Indian.
Image Source as @MIB_India
This is a proud moment for us. We are right now the leading Indian company to be able to provide an eSignature solution, akin to digital signatures, to the world. The fact that we foresaw this shift and have been working on this for the last five years gives us immense pride. And this is what the industry calls 'validation', when your concept is proved and appreciated in the real world.
But then, why is eSignature, a mere digital electronic signature, so important in this vision of a Digital India?
It is extraordinarily important, and I'll tell you why.
Ease of Use Versatility Legal Ideal for Modern Businesses Affordability The bottom-line in a market like India is how much this is going to cost individual users and SMBs. Because overcoming barriers to change is only possible when the price point for a new product is inviting enough for a user to consider. On this front as well, eSignatures come up trumps, as most of these products, including our product Signeasy, start from as little as INR 300, which is as cheap as they come for technology of this much value.We have seen organizations use innovative paperless solutions in India. ICICI, one of the leading private sector banks, have adopted "Tab Banking" to open a new account. Their officers visit homes and offices to scan the necessary documents such as photographs and KYC documents. This is an important step towards helping customers avoid the need to send signed paperwork. Even though with Tab Banking signatures are not required on the KYC documents, there is still the requirement for signing on a particular form that is tied to the bank account.
The future is not far away where the officer neither has to visit the doorstep of customer nor the customer visit the bank. With eSignatures, the customers can sign and send the necessary forms to the bank themselves. Imagine the number of hours saved by the people and bank, the trips that can be avoided, and the ultimate gain in efficiency. This can be achieved on a grander scale. For example, SBI processed more than 70 million new accounts opened in 2013-2014 AY. All of those account opening processes could move to eSigning instead of physical signatures.
The push that the Government of India is giving to eSignatures is mostly about starting at a point where it is easy for the people to congregate and start using technology. It is a sound, well thought out move that could pay dividends in the future as we look towards building a digital nation.
