Digital Signature Certificate
Digital Signature Certificates (DSC) are the digital equivalent (that is electronic format) of physical or paper certificates which can be presented electronically to prove one’s identity, to access information or services on the Internet or to sign certain documents/data digitally.
Digital Signature Certificate (DSC) required for
Like physical documents are signed manually, electronic documents/data, for example e-forms are required to be signed digitally using a Digital Signature Certificate.
Licensed Certifying Authorities for Digital Signature Certificate
A licensed Certifying Authority (CA) issues the digital signature. Certifying
Authority (CA) means a person who has been granted a license to issue a digital
signature certificate under Section 24 of the Indian IT-Act 2000.
The list of licensed CAs in India is given below.
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Cost of obtaining a Digital Signature Certificate
The cost of obtaining a digital signature certificate may vary as there are many entities issuing DSCs and their charges may differ.
Time do CAs take to issue a DSC
The time taken by CAs to issue a DSC may vary from three to seven days.
Validity period of a Digital Signature Certificate
The Certifying Authorities are authorized to issue a Digital Signature Certificate with a validity of one or two years.
Legal status of a Digital Signature
Digital Signatures are legally admissible in a Court of Law, as provided under the provisions of IT Act.
You need to follow the steps given below:
1. In Internet Explorer, click on Tools > Internet Options > Security.
2. Click “Internet” and “Default Level” button and change the Security Settings to “Medium”.
3. Click “Custom Level” Button.
4. Enable the “Download Signed ActiveX controls” option.
5. Enable the “Run ActiveX controls and Plugins” option.
6. Enable the “Script ActiveX controls marked safe for scripting” option.
7. Disable the Use Pop Blocker option.
The class and type of Digital Signature Certificates required in MSTC e-procurement portal
There are basically 3 types of Digital Signature Certificates - Class-1, Class-2 & Class-3 each having different level of security. MSTC e-procurement portal requires users to have either class 2 or class 3 Digital Signature Certificates.
The vendors/users in MSTC e-procurement portal need two types of Digital Signature Certificates – Signing type for login and signing/validating data/action and Encryption type for bid encryption/decryption.
