Which of the following statements, as per the Information Technology Act, 2000, is/are correct? 1. This Act provides that electronic signature is legally valid in the same manner as the handwritten signature. 2. Both the Central Government and State Governments have been given the power to make rules with respect to electronic signature. Select the answer using the code given below:
- (a)1 only
- (b)2 only
- (c)Both 1 and 2
- (d)Neither 1 nor 2
Correct — A, 1 only. Statement 1 restates section 5 of the Act, which provides that where any law requires information to be authenticated by affixing a signature, or a document to be signed, that requirement 'shall be deemed to have been satisfied' if the matter is authenticated by an electronic signature affixed in the manner prescribed by the Central Government. The section's explanation makes the equivalence explicit by defining 'signed' as the affixing of a handwritten signature or mark. Statement 2 fails on a single word — 'both'. The rule-making power over electronic signature belongs to the Centre alone: section 10 is headed 'Power to make rules by Central Government in respect of electronic signature' and lets the Central Government prescribe the type of signature, the manner and format of affixing it, the identification procedure and the control processes. Section 90, the State Governments' rule-making section, is confined to the electronic form for filings, licences and payments under section 6 — the e-governance provisions — and does not reach electronic signature at all.
- (b)2 only — Keeps the false statement and drops the true one. Statement 2 attributes rule-making power over electronic signature to the states as well, which section 10 gives to the Central Government alone.
- (c)Both 1 and 2 — Accepts both. The legal-recognition point is correct, but the shared rule-making power is not: the State Governments' power under section 90 is tied to the section 6 e-governance filings, not to signatures.
- (d)Neither 1 nor 2 — Rejects both, which discards section 5. That section is the whole basis on which electronic signatures have legal effect in India.
The Information Technology Act, 2000 gives legal effect to electronic records and signatures. Section 4 recognises electronic records where writing is required, section 5 recognises electronic signatures where a signature is required, and section 6 lets government offices accept electronic filings and payments. The 2008 amendment replaced the narrower 'digital signature' with the technology-neutral 'electronic signature', adding section 3A and the Second Schedule so that new authentication techniques can be notified without amending the Act.
Statute items are decided by looking at who holds the power, not at whether the arrangement sounds sensible. It would seem reasonable for states to make signature rules — they run their own e-governance — but the Act deliberately keeps signature standards national, because a signature valid in one state and not in another would defeat the purpose. Read the section headings and the split is visible in the words themselves: section 10 names the Central Government, section 90 names the State Government and points back to section 6. Also keep the vocabulary straight: a digital signature is one species of electronic signature, and the certificate issued by a certifying authority is a different thing from the signature itself.
- Section 5 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 gives an electronic signature the same effect as a signature where any law requires one.
- Section 10 is headed 'Power to make rules by Central Government in respect of electronic signature' and covers the type, manner, format and identification procedure.
- Section 90 gives State Governments rule-making power confined to the electronic form of filings, grants and payments under section 6.
- The Information Technology (Amendment) Act, 2008 replaced 'digital signature' with the technology-neutral 'electronic signature' and inserted section 3A and the Second Schedule.
- The Controller of Certifying Authorities licenses the certifying authorities that issue electronic signature certificates.
The Act separates signature standards, which are central, from e-governance filings, where states may prescribe the form.
- Treating 'digital signature' and 'electronic signature' as identical; the digital signature is one technique within the wider category.
- Assuming rule-making power follows subject matter loosely; here the Act names the Central Government expressly in section 10.
- Confusing the electronic signature with the certificate that identifies the certifying authority — a distinction UPSC has tested directly.
As a two-statement item on a statute, where one statement quotes a section correctly and the other widens who holds a power.
Consider the following statements. A digital signature is 1. An electronic record that identifies the certifying authority issuing it 2. Used to serve as a proof of identity of an individual to access information or server on Internet 3. An electronic method of signing an electronic document and ensuring that the original content is unchanged Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- (a) 1 only
- (b) 2 and 3 only
- (c) 3 only
- (d) 1, 2 and 3
Answer(c) 3 only
The technical half of the same subject. That item pins down what a digital signature does — bind a signer to a document and guarantee that its content is unaltered — while this one asks what legal effect the Act attaches to it and who writes the rules.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Under the Information Technology Act, 2000, the power to make rules in respect of electronic signature is vested in
- (a)the Central Government alone
- (b)the State Governments alone
- (c)both the Central and the State Governments
- (d)the Controller of Certifying Authorities
Answer(a) the Central Government alone — section 10 names the Central Government, while section 90 confines the states to the section 6 filings.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The expression 'digital signature' in the Information Technology Act, 2000 was replaced by the wider 'electronic signature' by which amendment?
- (a)The Information Technology (Amendment) Act, 2008
- (b)The Information Technology (Amendment) Act, 2015
- (c)The Finance Act, 2011
- (d)The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023
Answer(a) The Information Technology (Amendment) Act, 2008 — which also inserted section 3A and the Second Schedule to keep the law technology-neutral.