Govt to introduce digital signatures for inter-office docs

Digital signing of letters sent among state offices and agencies will begin this month, the technology ministry said on Wednesday.

In 2010, the 'GEMS' portal was launched to digitise the sending of letters and memos by facilitating communication between government offices and agencies.

What office owners are now doing to sign letters sent via GEMS is to take a print of the letter and sign it and then re-scan it, then upload it to GEMS and send it back through the portal.

The technology ministry said it is all set to experience the technology by the end of this month, to start signing digitally.

Technology Minister Aiminath Shauna said the government is in the process of revamping the e-letter management system. The change, she points out, is an important step in the government's efforts to digitise the services provided by the government.

State Minister Mohamed Shareef said that with the first introduction of the 'GEMS' system, the work of "going out on bicycles and distributing letters" had been diminished. Now, efforts are being made to address the problem of printing and signing the letter and re-scanning it and sending it through, he said.