INDIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Shivalik Chandan, Hardik Choudhary, Dhruv Singh and Arjun Khurana, G&W Legal
companies must comply with regarding their interconnection agreements, including: • the requirement to enter into interconnection agreements with service providers on a non- discriminatory basis; • the procedure for entering into interconnec - tion agreements including the documentation and timelines involved in entering the agree - ments; • the requirement of furnishing a bank guaran - tee; • the procedure and requirements for provision - ing and augmenting points of interconnection between the service providers; • the requirement for any interconnection charges to be transparent, non-discriminatory and reasonable; and • penalty for contravention (of up to INR100,000 or approximately USD1,150 per day per licensed service area). Companies must be mindful of and adhere to the requirements imposed by the Interconnec - tion Regulations when entering into interconnec - tion agreements. 8. Trust Services and Digital Entities 8.1 Trust Services and Electronic Signatures/Digital Identity Schemes Regulation of Digital Signatures and Electronic Authentication Techniques Regulation of trust services in India is limited to legislation governing electronic signatures. Electronic signatures, their issue, use and legal validity are governed by the provisions of the IT Act and rules issued thereunder. The IT Act grants legal recognition to electronic records and allows for the authentication of electronic
records by way of digital signatures or electronic authentication techniques, which are consid - ered reliable and are specified in the provisions. Conditions for reliability include the signature/ authentication data being linked to the signatory, being under control of the signatory at the time of affixing, and any alterations to the signature/ authentication or to the information after it is signed/authenticated being detectable. Digital signature certificates (DSCs) Certifying authorities are defined as those per - sons/entities who have been granted licences to issue digital signature certificates (DSCs) to end users under the provisions of the IT Act. Eligibility requirements for obtaining this licence include prescribed minimum paid-up capital and net worth requirements, as well as an FDI cap of 49%. Applications for licences are to be accom - panied by a fee and a bank guarantee of the prescribed amounts. Licences are valid for a period of five years from the date of issue and may be renewed upon applications for such renewal. Certain obliga - tions regarding reliability, security procedures, publishing of information, etc, are also imposed on certifying authorities by the IT Act. End users may apply to a licensed certifying authority to obtain a DSC and pay the prescribed fees for obtaining a DSC with a validity of two years. Digital identity system (Aadhar) India has adopted a digital identity system called “Aadhar”, which was initially launched in 2009. The Aadhar ecosystem is administered by the Unique Identification Authority of India, a statu - tory body set up by the Indian government. Aad - har numbers are unique 12-digit identity num -
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