BENGALURU: The delay in the launch of new driving licence (DL) and registration certificate (RC) formats is getting longer.
The formats were initially scheduled to be launched in October last year, but it was later postponed to November 15. The state transport department blames the Union Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH) for the delay. "Right now, testing is on and we are pushing for a speedy process from our side. It should hopefully come out by February," said N Shivakumar, Transport Commissioner.
Additional Commissioner of Transport (e-governance and environment) Shivraj Patil said that the software was ready and the vendor was testing the fonts and the formats to print and supply. However, Gouri Shankar, National Informatics Centre (NIC) director (Karnataka), said the new format of only RC was ready for printing. “The DL may take time as the design itself is not confirmed by MoRTH,” he said.
With the enactment of the new Motor Vehicles Act, the Centre had said significant changes would be made to DL and RC. The DL and RC cards will be printed with the same design on the front and back, with a microchip in the front and QR code in the back.Currently, each state has separate processes for DL and RC, and the new formats will bring in a unified system across India.
The current DL and RC formats were designed with help from Rosmerta Technologies, an IT company to which the project is outsourced. The NIC, which functions under the Union Information Technology Ministry handles the Vahan portal for vehicle registration and driving licence-related services.