Issuance of a Digital Signature Certificate requires certification of legal compliance, subscriber acceptance, availability of the certificate to relying persons, and the subscriber's control of the corresponding private key. The private key must create a digital signature, the public key must verify it, and both must form a functioning key pair. Certificate information must be accurate, and no known material fact may undermine the reliability of these representations.

Electronic signature Certificate applications must be made in the prescribed form, with the prescribed fee and a certification practice statement or regulatory particulars where no such statement exists. The Certifying Authority may conduct enquiries before granting a Certificate. Any rejection must be supported by written reasons, and the applicant must receive a reasonable opportunity to show cause against the proposed rejection.

Certifying Authorities must disclose electronic signature certificates, relevant certification practice statements, certificate revocation or suspension, and facts materially affecting certificate reliability or their ability to provide certification services. Where an event may materially affect computer-system integrity or conditions governing grant of an electronic signature certificate, they must notify persons likely to be affected through reasonable efforts or follow the procedure in their certification practice statements.

Every Certifying Authority whose licence is suspended or revoked must immediately surrender the licence to the Controller. Failure to surrender the licence makes the person in whose favour it was issued liable to a penalty, which may extend to five lakh rupees.

Every Certifying Authority must display its licence conspicuously at the premises where it carries on business. The requirement ensures that the licence is readily visible at the operational site.

Certifying Authorities must ensure that every employee and other person engaged by them complies, while acting in the course of employment or engagement, with the Information Technology Act, 2000, and all rules, regulations, and orders made under it. The provision imposes an institutional compliance responsibility extending beyond the certifying entity itself to persons performing work under its direction or on its behalf.

Certifying Authorities must deploy systems and procedures secure from intrusion and misuse, provide reliable services suited to intended functions, and protect the secrecy and privacy of electronic signatures. They must maintain a repository of issued electronic signature Certificates, publish information on their practices and certificate status, and comply with further regulatory standards.

Section 29 empowers the Controller and authorised persons, on reasonable suspicion of a Chapter contravention, to access computer systems, apparatus, data, and connected material for searches to obtain available information or data. It also permits an order requiring persons responsible for or connected with operating the relevant system, data, apparatus, or material to provide necessary reasonable technical and other assistance.

The Controller or an authorised officer must investigate contraventions of the Information Technology Act, 2000, including breaches of rules or regulations made under it. They may exercise powers equivalent to those conferred on Income-tax authorities, subject to the limitations applicable under the Income-tax Act, 1961.

Written authorisation enables the Controller to delegate any power exercisable under the Chapter regulating Certifying Authorities to a Deputy Controller, Assistant Controller, or any other officer. Delegation must be made in writing and permits the authorised officer to exercise those delegated Controller powers within the Chapter pursuant to that authorisation.

Suspension or revocation of a Certifying Authority's licence requires the Controller to publish notice in the maintained database and, where repositories are specified, in each repository. The database carrying the notice must remain accessible through a website on a round-the-clock basis. Further publicity may be given through appropriate electronic or other media where considered necessary.

Section 25 permits revocation of a Certifying Authority's licence for materially false application statements, breach of licence terms, failure to maintain prescribed procedures and standards, or contravention of applicable legal requirements. Revocation requires a reasonable opportunity to show cause. Pending inquiry, suspension may be ordered where reasonable cause exists to believe a revocation ground is present; suspension exceeding ten days also requires a reasonable opportunity to show cause. A suspended Certifying Authority cannot issue electronic signature Certificates.

The Controller may grant or reject a licence application after considering the accompanying documents and other relevant factors. An application cannot be rejected unless the applicant has been given a reasonable opportunity to present its case.

Renewal of a Certifying Authority licence requires an application in the prescribed form, accompanied by the prescribed fee subject to a maximum of five thousand rupees, and filed at least forty-five days before expiry of the licence validity period. The Central Government prescribes the applicable form and fee within that limit.

Applications for a licence must be made in the form prescribed by the Central Government and accompanied by a certification practice statement, applicant-identification procedures, the prescribed fee subject to the statutory ceiling, and other prescribed documents.

Licensing for the issuance of electronic signature Certificates is available upon application to the Controller, subject to prescribed eligibility requirements. Applicants must meet standards relating to qualifications, expertise, manpower, financial resources and infrastructure. Licences are valid for the prescribed period, are not transferable or heritable, and remain subject to regulatory conditions.

Section 20 concerning the Controller's role as repository has been omitted. Before omission, the Controller was required to retain all Digital Signature Certificates issued under the Act, use hardware, software and procedures secure against intrusion and misuse, observe prescribed standards protecting digital-signature secrecy and security, and maintain a computerised database of public keys accessible to every member of the public.

Recognition of foreign Certifying Authorities is subject to regulatory conditions and restrictions, prior governmental approval, and notification in the Official Gazette. A recognised foreign Certifying Authority may function for statutory purposes, and its electronic signature Certificates are valid for those purposes. Recognition may be revoked upon contravention of attached conditions or restrictions, provided written reasons are recorded and revocation is notified in the Official Gazette.

Section 18 empowers the Controller to supervise Certifying Authorities, certify public keys, prescribe operational standards, and regulate their business conditions, employee qualifications, electronic signature Certificates, advertising materials, accounts, and auditors. The Controller may regulate electronic systems and subscriber dealings, resolve conflicts of interest, lay down duties, and maintain a publicly accessible database of prescribed disclosure records for every Certifying Authority.

Section 17 empowers the Central Government to appoint a Controller of Certifying Authorities, along with Deputy Controllers, Assistant Controllers, officers and employees, through notification in the Official Gazette. The Controller functions under governmental control and direction, while Deputy and Assistant Controllers perform assigned functions under the Controller's superintendence. Service qualifications and conditions are prescribed by the Central Government, which also determines the locations of head and branch offices. The Office of the Controller is required to have a seal.