Karnataka implements online system for registration renewal of nurses

In a landmark shift toward digital governance, the Karnataka State Nursing Council has enabled nurses across India and abroad to complete their ‘Registration Renewal’ entirely online through the Aadhaar-DigiLocker platform.

With this, lakhs of nurses registered with the council no longer need to navigate the congested lanes of Gandhinagar office in Bengaluru, just to renew their professional credentials. A large proportion of nursing professionals in Karnataka are women, including a substantial number who travel from Kerala to pursue nursing education in the State.

Until recently, any nurse who had completed his or her their training from a Karnataka-based institution was required, once every five years, to physically visit the council’s office tucked away in Gandhinagar, a congested neighbourhood where even finding parking for a two-wheeler is a challenge.

Under the revamped process, a nurse can apply for renewal through DigiLocker from anywhere in the country. Within a few days, council registrar reviews and approves the application and the renewed certificate is mailed directly to the applicant’s DigiLocker account.

While the DigiLocker-based system was introduced in August 2025, it was initially available only for fresh registrations. Medical Education and Skill Development Minister Dr. Sharan Prakash Patil took note of the gap this created for already-serving nurses and directed the council to rectify the discrepancy. He recently inaugurated the expansion of the digital service to renewal as well.

“For the first time in the country, over 2,000 fresh nurses have received their registration certificates through Aadhaar-DigiLocker. Earlier, nurses had to visit the council office in person, which was deeply inconvenient. Recognising this difficulty, we have now put in place a seamless online system for both registration and renewal,” Dr. Patil said.