Certificates in DMAT format to check forgery

In a major initiative to check the practice of forged certificates, the government is planning to create a national database of academic qualifications in DMAT format which would authenticate and reissue certificates.

The HRD Ministry will bring a bill in Parliament for creation of the depository where the certificates issued by school boards and universities would be stored in an electronic format for any future use.

"Forged certificate is a major problem. There is no verification process with the employer. The credibility of our institutes come under question. We are contemplating to establish a national database in an electronic format by an identified registered depository," HRD Minister Kapil Sibal told reporters here.

Under this initiative, the school boards, universities and certificate issuing institutions can have direct linkages to the depository. The certificates could be stored in a DMAT format.

"It would be a secured depository. Anybody who loses his certificate can get an authentic certificate. Anybody who wants to verify the authenticity of a certificate can do so by contacting the depository," he said.

As per the government's plan, the depository could be put in place from 2011.

The government has set up a task force headed by IIT Kanpur Director Prof Sanjay Dhande to prepare a roadmap for implementation of the initiative.