Meri Pehchaan today · the starting point
What exists today, and what a department goes through to join it
The facts this concept starts from: three providers behind one brand, a six-step onboarding for application owners, the sign-in as it runs now, and the ten portals that still ask you to remember something else. Nothing on this page is proposed — it is the record.
Why it looks like the government — on purpose
Most entries here are visually lavish. This one deliberately is not. Sambit Swarup, who made this prototype, chose the Government of India's own design language over a custom look — and stayed inside it.
Trust
A citizen recognises the government's own chrome the way they recognise their bank's. A sign-in page that looks new and lavish is exactly what a phishing page looks like. The national button must look like something the government already ships.
Adoption
Every screen starts from the component markup departments already run. A department can paste these screens in. A custom design would be a redesign project for each of them; this is one block of markup.
Accessibility by default
Contrast, focus, 44-px targets, Noto Sans with Indic coverage, the accessibility bar, twelve languages — inherited from the government's own components, not promised; our checkers verify every route in both themes.
The only additions are six classes for the Meri Pehchaan family, built from the government's own tokens. Nothing overrides a token. That restraint is the design.
Current Meri Pehchaan providers — one door, not three
Today the citizen must pick a provider before signing in. In 2.0 any of the three identifiers opens the same door; the hub routes it. The providers stay; the choosing goes.
Provider names are shown as text; their official marks are not reproduced on this concept site.
Citizen journey maps
Sign in
- Tap the buttonबटन दबाएँOn any service. The department keeps its own login under “Other ways to sign in”.
- One identifierएक पहचानकर्ताMobile, user id, Aadhaar, PAN — whatever you have. No choosing a provider.
- Verifyसत्यापित करेंA one-time code, a passkey, or a tap on your authenticator.
- ConsentसहमतिWhat this service may read, why, until when. Nothing pre-ticked.
- Avail servicesसेवाएँ पाएँIn. The next service needs no second code today.
Registration
- Your mobile numberआपका मोबाइल नंबरThe one thing you always carry.
- Verifyसत्यापित करेंOne-time code. Demo: 123456.
- About youआपके बारे मेंName, date of birth, gender, a user id. Four facts, not a form.
- Your Pehchaanआपकी पहचानShabda on day one. Prove a record to file; add a passkey to sign.
Application owners — how Meri Pehchaan auth works
The six steps a department follows today, kept — with a sandbox, a button kit and a conformance badge added so the middle four take an afternoon, not a quarter.
- Apply onlineऑनलाइन आवेदनRegister the service: name, logo, redirect URIs, scopes.
- Get API keyएपीआई कुंजीSandbox client id and secret, instantly.
- Develop host APIsहोस्ट एपीआईDrop the button in; point your callback at the hub.
- Integrateएकीकृत करेंStandard OpenID Connect. Read acr per action.
- Testing / auditपरीक्षणBreak it with the sandbox faults before a citizen does.
- Go liveलाइव करेंThe Meri Pehchaan Ready checklist is the badge.
How a sign-in works
Four screens, about ninety seconds. Nothing here is a picture.
Why now: nine of ten ask you to remember something else
The ten highest-traffic citizen portals, checked on 27 August 2026 on each portal's own sign-in page.
| Portal | Meri Pehchaan? | What it asks for instead |
|---|---|---|
| IRCTC | No | User ID + password + CAPTCHA |
| Income Tax e-Filing | No | PAN + password, then a second factor |
| EPFO | No | UAN + password + CAPTCHA |
| GST | No | Username + password + CAPTCHA |
| MCA21 | No | Email + password, DSC |
| CPGRAMS | No | Username + password + CAPTCHA |
| Parivahan | No | Username + password + CAPTCHA |
| RTI Online | No | Username + password + security code |
| cybercrime.gov.in | No | Mobile + OTP + CAPTCHA |
| UMANG | Yes (reported) | — |
The identity exists — 140 crore Aadhaar numbers, 72 crore DigiLocker accounts. What was missing is something a department can adopt: a button, a brand kit, a sandbox, and an answer to “what happens to my users when your hub goes down”.