India is all set to enter the digital signature space. Two Indian companies will be issued the necessary licenses to become certifying agents to enable digital signature-based transactions in India by March this year.

According to K.N. Gupta, controller of Certifying Authorities (CAs), the introduction of digital signatures would give a boost to online transactions; they would be the key to overcoming e-security problems.

"The digital signature will soon take and play a key role in e-commerce transactions over the next decade. A total security framework for e-commerce, online banking and even e-mail was required with the quantum increase in the use of these services.

"The digital signature services will be operational by the end of February or early March," he added.

India's leading private ISP Satyam Infoway (SIFY) and the Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology (IDRBT) have both received clearance from the Ministry of Information Technology to offer digital signature services.

Industry sources said that while SIFY had tied up with U.S.-based VeriSign for the digital signature technology, IDRBT seemed to have developed its own with the support from Tata Consultancy Services.

There is no cap on the number of CAs under the IT Act, and the Ministry expects that there would be about 15-20 CAs by the end of the calendar year. Under the IT Act, there is no provision specifying a separate CA for each sector. However, it is the responsibility of the service providers to make sure that no fraudulent person gets a certificate, Gupta said.

Although the IT Act is in place, and the rules and regulations for the introduction of digital signatures have been framed, pricing details have not yet been finalized; differentiated pricing would apply for corporate and individual users, he added.