What is Electronic Signature & Digital Signature?

The two terms are not interchangeable. An electronic signature can be a typed name, a scrawl drawn on a tablet, or a click recorded with an audit trail. A digital signature uses public key cryptography and a certificate issued by a certification authority, which binds the signature to a verified identity and reveals any change made to the document after signing. The Department of Information and Communications Technology administers a national public key infrastructure for this purpose.

Enforceability turns on evidence rather than on how the signature looks. What matters in a dispute is whether you can show who signed, when they signed, and that the document has not changed since — which is why a platform keeping a tamper-evident audit trail is preferable to a pasted image of a signature. Some documents carry additional formalities such as notarisation or registration with a government office, so confirm the requirements for the specific instrument before relying on an electronic signature alone.