Procedure for Documents Authentication in India

The very first thing I would like to suggest you is to take as much care as possible of your documents but try not to laminate them. Because authentication of documents needs many stamping and it is almost sure that peeling lamination off from documents will never walk alone!! So better try to avoid lamination. If in any case peeling is needed then I suggest you to see a professional near you or try any one of these: here and here
There might be several reasons behind authentication of documents but if you are a student and are going to apply for a higher education (like Masters or PhD) especially in European countries (like Germany, France, Poland, Italy, Norway and many others), it becomes almost mandatory to authenticate and also Apostille (here) your documents.

At the very first stage the procedure seems to be lengthy and impossible to complete on time, fortunately it is not the case. Trust me, if you know the right procedure, it becomes handy and will not take more than two days.

The procedure that I am writing here is based on my experience that I had one year back at the time of writing. Since government procedure doesn't change so frequently so I think it is worth sharing with others. However I strongly recommend the readers to confirm the procedure from the authenticated centers/websites.
I obtained my graduation and masters education from two different universities of Uttar Pradesh and I had gone through the following procedure for authentication.

1. Authentication. Previously the documents authentication was done by MHRD, which is now transferred to the Regional Authentication Centers (RACs) listed here. The place of your institute or the university decides which centre you should go (irrespective of your native place and also not by the university affiliation like Central or State University). The procedure will take 1-2 days time. In my case it was Lucknow secretariat since my both the degrees belongs to universities which comes in UP circle.
2. Requirements and Procedure.
   

• You must have a letter (xerox + original) from the foreign university or from the embassy of concerned country, stating that “authentication of the documents is required”
• Your original degrees also keep their Xerox
  
• Provisional degree, Mark Sheets and Transcript are not required
• An affidavit on value Rs. 10/- stamp, stating your purpose with your address and what you want to authenticate with name, enrollment number with degree and university name. This work is done by notaries, sits in court
• Your Passport
• A form with complete details. This form was free and provided to you by your state legislative centre (6 number gate and 9 number window at Lucknow Secretariat)
• There was NO OFFICIAL FEE for documents attestations and documents are returned on the same day (in the afternoon: between 3 to 5) of submission
  
• You should prefer to submit your documents before noon
• Documents are submitted along with the Passport
  
• The final authenticated documents bear two to three official stamps (see reverse side of your authenticated document)
  
• Check, the stamps must have a reference number and signatures

Here it is done..Congratulations..!!

Your next step would be to put Apostille sticker on the authenticated documents.

How You authenticated your documents? Have you found any change in procedure..share your experiences and update everyone.