The Indian Express                 29.10.2013

Plan for digital signatures on birth, death certificates

Birth and death certificates issued by BMC could soon be signed by the health officers concerned through digital signatures if a proposal passed on to the administration is passed. The proposal, submitted by Samajwadi Party corporator Rais Shaikh, came up for review Monday at a general body meeting.

Shaikh said, "At times, citizens have to wait for hours for health officials, usually the medical health officer, to get a signature on applications. With digital signatures, the official can sign and validate a certificate from anywhere. This will reduce administrative delay."

The digital signatures will be password-protected and health officers can approve applications online at a convenient time, making it possible to authorise applications faster.

BJP leader Dilip Patel objected to the proposal, saying that use of digital signatures could lead to "fraud and duplication".