State Government Announces Major Policy Shift to Ensure Data Security
Mumbai, July 13: In a significant move aimed at ensuring transparency, efficiency, and the absolute security of official records, the Government of Maharashtra has enacted a major policy shift. All crucial government resolutions, official orders, notifications, and sanction letters across state departments must now be issued exclusively using Digital Signature Certificates (DSC) or e-Signatures. The official government circular formalizing this directive was released today by the Department of Electronics, Information Technology, and Artificial Intelligence.
Official orders and notifications issued by various state departments directly impact citizens’ rights, property titles, financial liabilities, and statutory legal frameworks. Securing the integrity, authenticity, and long-term archival management of these sensitive documents through digitized channels has therefore become imperative. While digital signatures have held legal validity since the enactment of the Information Technology Act of 2000, their usage has now been made mandatory in view of the rapidly expanding adoption of the ‘e-Office’ workspace system within public administration.
Under the new regulatory framework, documents classified as sensitive including government resolutions (GRs), administrative circulars, land acquisition awards, judicial and quasi-judicial rulings, financial sanctions, human resource directives (such as appointments, promotions, and transfers), government tenders, contracts, Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs), and statutory citizen licenses must be executed solely via digital authentication.
To ensure seamless implementation of this landmark policy, all administrative departments have been instructed to upgrade their computer applications, service portals, and operational workflows, with a strict deadline set for July 31, 2026. Consequently, starting August 1, 2026, the inclusion of a digital signature or e-Sign will be legally mandatory for all designated documents. The government explicitly clarified that physical or handwritten signatures on these files will no longer be accepted, barring exceptional and unavoidable emergencies. All regional, subordinate, and field offices have been ordered to strictly comply with these directives within the stipulated timeframe.
