As India continues its journey toward a fully digital nation, providing citizens with easy and secure access to government services has become paramount. The Meri Pehchaan National Single Sign-On (SSO) system is a key initiative aimed at simplifying access across various platforms, ensuring seamless interactions between citizens and government services. In this blog, we will explore how to integrate Meri Pehchaan with Identity, our robust identity management solution, to enable a unified and secure authentication process for your applications.

What is Meri Pehchaan?

Meri Pehchaan is India's National SSO initiative that allows users to log into multiple government services using a single set of credentials. It provides a secure and convenient way for users to access digital services without needing to manage separate login credentials for each service. This simplifies user access and reduces friction in the user experience.

Why Integrate Meri Pehchaan with Identity?

Integrating Meri Pehchaan with Identity provides several benefits for both service providers and users:

• Unified Access: Users will be able to access your services using their Meri Pehchaan credentials, reducing the need for multiple logins.
• Enhanced Security: By leveraging a centralized authentication system like Meri Pehchaan, you improve security for your users, ensuring their data is protected.
• Seamless User Experience: With a streamlined login process, users can easily interact with your services without dealing with complex authentication procedures.

Steps to Integrate Meri Pehchaan with Identity

Let’s break down the integration process into simple steps:

Step 1: Register Your Application with Meri Pehchaan

First, you need to register your application on the Meri Pehchaan Developer Portal. This step is crucial as it enables your application to use Meri Pehchaan as an identity provider.

• Log in to the Api Setu Partner Portal.
• Navigate to Meri Pehchaan (Authorized Partners)
• Click on Generate New Key
• Fill in the required details like
  • Website Url
  • Description
  • App Type as Web
  • Scopes including Openid
  • Callback Url as Identity Url /signin-meri E.g. https://identity.celusion.dev/app/signin-meri
• Once registered, you will receive the Client ID and Client Secret, which you will need in the subsequent steps

Step 2: Configure Identity to Use Meri Pehchaan

Next, configure Identity to recognize Meri Pehchaan as an OAuth2 identity provider. Follow these steps:

• Log into Identity Admin Console:
  • Access the Identity management dashboard.
• Navigate to the External Identity Providers Section:
  • Administration > Providers > Identity Providers
  • Click on New Provider.
• Fill in the general details:
  • Meri Pehchaan logo
  • Scheme as meri
  • Name and Description as Meri Pehchaan
  • Protocol as OAuth 2.0
  • Client ID and Client Secret from Api Setu Partner Portal
  • Authorization Url, Token Url and User Information Url
• Map the required claims
  • Associate the Name ID claim to the external claim digilockerid
• Login button design
  • Choose the icon
  • Set button styles and separator
  • Save your configuration
• Enable External Login:
  • Navigate to Administration > Settings
  • Under External Login - Select 'Allow external login'
  • Toggle the Google switch to On
• Save and Test Configuration:
  • Save the configuration and run a test to ensure the integration is successful.

Step 3: Testing the Integration

Once the setup is complete, test the integration to ensure everything works as expected:

• Link your Meri Pehchaan Account:
  • Login to Identity with your credentials
  • Navigate to My Profile > External Login
  • Click 'Connect' against Meri Pehchaan
  • You will be redirected to the Meri Pehchaan login page
  • Enter your credentials on the Meri Pehchaan login page
  • Your Identity account is now linked to a Meri Pehchaan account
• Log Out and Try Signing In via Meri Pehchaan:
  • Navigate to Identity’s login page.
  • You should now see Meri Pehchaan as one of the available identity providers.
• Confirm Successful Login:
  • Click Login with Meri Pehchaan
  • If you are already signed in to Meri Pehchaan, you will be redirected to the home page of Identity

Video Tutorial

We've also created a comprehensive video tutorial on YouTube that walks you through the entire SSO setup process with Meri Pehchaan as the Identity Provider. Watch it here to see each step in action!

Conclusion

Integrating Meri Pehchaan with Identity offers a simple and secure way to provide unified access to government services for users. By leveraging this national SSO platform, you improve user experience, strengthen security, and align with India’s digital vision.

With the integration complete, your users can now authenticate using their Meri Pehchaan credentials, unlocking a seamless and secure way to access your services. This will undoubtedly contribute to a more connected and efficient digital ecosystem.