India PKI(Public Key Certificates) Policies

What is the objective and scope of DSC Interoperability Guidelines issued by CCA?

The objective of DSC Interoperability Guidelines is to achieve interoperability across DSCs issued by different CAs. These Guidelines also include profiles of other special purpose certificates including Time stamping, OCSP responder, SSL Server, SSL Client, Encryption and Code signing. The scope of these Guidelines includes all certificates issued under India PKI hierarchy.

What is India PKI CP?

The India PKI is a hierarchical PKI with the trust chain starting from the Root Certifying Authority of India (RCAI). Below RCAI there are Certifying Authorities (CAs) licensed by CCA to issue Digital Signature Certificates. CAs can be private sector companies, Government departments, public sector companies. This Certificate Policy (CP) applies to RCAI and Licensed CAs. The policy identifiers (OIDs) listed in the CP are included in the certificates, and are based on identity verification method followed prior to issuance of DSC. This policy identifier represents the assurance level of that particular DSC issued by a Licenced CA.

Why Identity Verification of individual is common to all CAs?

The assurance level of DSC issued to subscribers is based on identity verification and is uniform across all CAs under the India PKI hierarchy. Uniformity in assurance level is important component for ensuring interoperability.