What are the various components of India Stack and how do they work together?

India Stack comprises several key components that work together to enable digital transactions, simplify processes, and empower individuals and businesses. The core components of India Stack include:

1. Aadhaar: Aadhaar is a unique 12digit identification number issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). It serves as a digital identity for individuals and is linked to their demographic and biometric information. Aadhaar enables secure and convenient authentication and verification of individuals' identities, reducing the need for physical documents and streamlining processes.

2. Unified Payments Interface (UPI): UPI is a realtime payment system that facilitates instant fund transfers between bank accounts. It allows users to link their bank accounts to a UPI ID, which can be used to send and receive money directly from their mobile devices. UPI provides a seamless and interoperable platform for various payment services, including persontoperson payments, merchant payments, bill payments, and more.

3. eKYC (Electronic Know Your Customer): eKYC is a paperless and digital process for verifying the identity of individuals. It leverages Aadhaar authentication to validate an individual's identity and collect necessary information. eKYC eliminates the need for physical documentation and enables faster and more efficient customer onboarding for various services, such as opening bank accounts, obtaining SIM cards, and accessing government schemes.

4. Digital Locker (DigiLocker): DigiLocker is a cloudbased platform that allows individuals to store and access their digital documents in a secure manner. It provides users with a personal digital storage space where they can store documents such as educational certificates, driving licenses, PAN cards, and more. DigiLocker eliminates the need for physical document storage and enables easy sharing of digital documents with authorized entities.

5. eSign: eSign is a digital signature framework that allows individuals to digitally sign documents. It provides a legally valid and secure method of signing electronic documents, eliminating the need for physical signatures. eSign ensures authenticity, integrity, and nonrepudiation of digitally signed documents.

6. India Stack APIs: India Stack provides a set of open APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) that allow developers and businesses to build innovative applications and services on top of the India Stack infrastructure. These APIs enable seamless integration with various components of India Stack, such as Aadhaar authentication, UPI payments, eKYC, and more.

These components of India Stack work together to create a digital ecosystem that simplifies processes, enhances security, and enables faster and more convenient access to services for individuals and businesses. By leveraging these components, individuals can easily authenticate their identity, make digital payments, access and share digital documents, and engage in a wide range of digital transactions. Businesses can leverage the India Stack infrastructure to offer streamlined and efficient services to their customers while ensuring secure and compliant operations.