Identity is a crucial component since it establishes a person's or an entity's identity. It is as significant as physical identity because it protects the characteristics that make identity a differentiating factor while also helping governments realize other objectives such as social inclusion, digital transformation, and improvement in the quality of services.

A managed digital space

Every aspect of society is affected by the digital revolution. The most noticeable change is the rise in popularity of various access points to online services, such as the internet and mobile apps.

Identity confirmation and individual identification are increasingly mediated by new technologies and solution providers in this digital age.

Birthdate, place of birth, ethnicity, nation, and physical traits like eye and hair color are often used for digital identity authentication.

Biometric data, such as iris and fingerprint images, are crucial for identification and verification. India's Aadhaar programme is a prime example of biometric-based identification. It stores fingerprint and iris scans using biometric technology in addition to personal information like name, date of birth, and place of residence. The privacy, security, and inclusion of Aadhaar card holders are maintained when they willingly utilize their number to authenticate their identification in a variety of digital apps. 23.45 crore e-KYC transactions involving Aadhaar were made in August, according to a research by IBEF.

Blockchain technology and biometrics-based digital identity solutions have surfaced in the digital sphere. The decentralized distributed ledger technology makes it possible to maintain data in several distributed databases. Since the data is encrypted and stored in multiple blocks of the chain, ensuring next-level data security, it is difficult to delete or alter the data that is contained in it.

Ensuring a secure online identity

Thanks to new technology solutions, data management and authentication are becoming safer. Additionally, the perception of advanced KYC is rapidly changing as a result of the advancement of biometrics. Although contactless technologies are quickly gaining popularity, fingerprint scanning is still the most commonly utilized method.

The apex of contactless biometrics is facial recognition, which reduces friction when applying solutions in environments with successful business processes. Because of advancements in biometrics technology, such as deep learning for video analytics, organizations and governments can now ensure safety.

Business ease thanks to digital identity

As 'dual-purpose' tools, digital identity technologies can be employed for society and individual benefit. The growing use of digital ID has produced an ecosystem that enables both individuals and businesses to simplify registration and authentication processes and conduct secure online transactions and construct high-assurance contracts using digital notarial services, for example.

The method is especially useful for industries that collect a lot of consumer data, such as financial services. Additionally, it has developed into a key enabler of streamlined know-your-customer solutions that facilitate easy interactions between clients and companies.

Organizations now hold a greater amount of client data as a result of an increase in digital contacts.

With this data readily available, there is a great opportunity to employ analytics to better understand customers and create more efficient and individualized user experiences and customer interactions.

Digital identification as a welfare tool

The use of a digital ID makes it possible to modernize public services including those related to healthcare, welfare payments, certificates, and licenses. By offering remote online authentication, you may improve user convenience, save potential travel costs, and cut wait times.

Conclusion

The relationship between private and public institutions and individual citizens is improved through a digital ID system. It is crucial to the design and development of services that are more innovative, flexible, and responsive. It specifically helps in minimizing operating costs, improving customer happiness, lowering turnaround times, accelerating deliveries, and enhancing security. The younger generation will have more secure data and greater convenience when making digital purchases as the digital environment is always evolving and ensuring a safe digital identity.