Aadhaar identification to be compulsory for seeking, renewal of driving licence

This move by the government is believed to prevent the issuance of multiple licences under one name which would, in turn, bring down criminal offenses or for fake identity. This move is set to kick-start from October this year.

Updated: March 26, 2017 8:53 AM IST

By Sandhya Dangwal

Aadhaar identification to be compulsory for seeking, renewal of driving licence
प्रतीकात्मक तस्वीर

New Delhi, March 26: In a bid to check fraudulent activities of having multiple driving licenses under one name, the government has planned to ask states to make Aadhaar identification necessary for a new licence. The Aadhaar identification will also be necessary for those seeking a license renewal. According to official estimates, around 18 crore driving licences have been issued across the country so far. This move by the government is believed to prevent the issuance of multiple licences under one name which would, in turn, bring down criminal offenses or for fake identity. This move is set to kick-start from October this year, a TOI report stated.

Reports state that the Union road transport ministry has already started work by incorporating the necessary changes. The ministry has decided to ask all the states to adopt this safe system to curb fake identity menace. This decision of the government will end the practice of getting multiple licences from different regional transport offices (RTOs) in different states. When the Aadhar details are linked with the driving license, the Aadhaar number’s biometrics details will help prevent such fraud practices.

The National Informatics Centre, which is responsible for managing the database of vehicles and licensed drivers, has uploaded most of the data available in RTO records, TOI reported. The RTOs in different states follow a manual system. Due to absence of access to real-time data of all RTOs, they are unable to check if an applicant already had another driving licence. The new initiative is believed to speed up the process to convert all data from hard copy registers to the digital format. Once the data is in a digital format, a huge transformation with usher in. (ALSO READ: Aadhaar card to be made mandatory for filing income tax returns, PAN applications)

The Aadhaar identification will be a single document that is believed to establish the identity of the applicant and track details of the driver. If anyone does not have it, then he/she has to submit several other documents in order to provide an identification of their identity. A source was quoted by TOI saying, “We are making the necessary changes and incorporating provisions to enable RTOs to record these details. All RTOs will have access to the central database of driving licences (known as Sarathi) to check whether the applicant has got any other driving licence issued anywhere in the country”.

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