Punjab, first to use DigiLocker to store Farmers’ J-Forms

Punjab has been the first state to use a DigiLocker to store farmers' vital J-Forms. Farmers will no longer need to hold or send paper copies of these forms, instead sharing e-copies in order to receive subsidies or loans. J-Form is used for income tax exemptions, fertiliser subsidies, agricultural loans, seed and health benefits, among other purposes.

The J-Forms produced for the ongoing Rabi Marketing Season (RMS) have been placed in the Digilockers, thanks to an initiative by the Punjab Mandi Board. Farmers will no longer have to rely on arhtiyas for these vital documents; instead, they will be able to download and use them.

It should be noted that J-Forms are available for a variety of activities, including obtaining Income Tax Exemptions, fertiliser subsidies, bank seed loans, and even crop insurance and health insurance.

The state government began saving J-Forms online last year. The J-Form was also connected to the farmers' Aadhaar card numbers and mobile/telephone numbers. The Punjab Mandi Board was able to store the forms in the DigiLocker even more easily as a result of this. The facility is open, but the question now is whether or not farmers will be able to download these forms using their smartphones or computers.

All other government departments have been given orders to ensure that the e-J Forms are approved, and that because they would have a QR code, they can be instantly authenticated,” he added, adding that farmers will simply need to download the DigiLocker software on their phone and display the stored J-Form.

Punjab has also begun holding both driver's licenses and educational certificates in the DigiLocker. Officials from Governance Reforms state that putting smart ration cards in the DigiLocker is next on the agenda, and that they are even looking at putting all land records in the DigiLocker.