Software services company Adobe has integrated Aadhaar-based authentication for its e-signature solution, Adobe Sign. The company said that it is integrating the technology to facilitate the better adoption of e-signatures in the country. Adobe Sign says that it is the first solution to make e-signatures legally binding in India.

The company added that signatures generated using Aadhaar-based KYC will have to work with government accredited service providers. So far there are four companies which are empanelled eSign Service Providers – eMudhra, C-DAC, (n)Code Solutions and NSDL e-Governance Infrastructure Ltd. Adobe has partnered with C-DAC for enabling Aadhaar eKYC for digital signatures.

Adobe Sign is an enterprise e-signing solution that significantly speeds up signature-based processes. One can sign, send, track, and manage documents from website browser and business apps.

Separately, the company said that local data centre will be launched in India. Respondents to a survey that Adobe had conducted said that 57% of them would like a local data centre if it provided e-signatures as Software-as-a-service (SaaS). The company added that it invested in the data centre in response to that.

How it works

  • Adobe, in this case, is an Application Service Provider (ASP) which develops Aadhaar eKYC experiences.
  • C-DAC will function as a KYC User Agency (KUA) of UIDAI and connects to UIDAI. C-DAC routes all authentications by ASPs to the UIDAI servers to complete an eSign. 
  • The ASP captures biometric/OTP information, and encrypts it in their end and forms the authentication XML.
  • The encrypted data is then sent to UIDAI, and the response is taken by C-DAC to complete an eSign.
  • The encryption is done by using a UIDAI public key by the ASP, so only UIDAI can decrypt the biometric information.

Where it cannot be used

Adobe added that there are some scenarios where e-signatures cannot be considered valid and will require wet signatures.

  • Real estate contracts such as leases and sales.
  • Wills and other testamentary documents
  • Trust deeds
  • Powers of attorney
  • Negotiable instruments such as a promissory note or a bill of exchange other than a check