HYDERABAD: A Punjab-based NGO, Raahat, has claimed that several smart cards issued in Telangana for vehicle registration certificates (RCs) and driving licences (DLs) were found to be non-compliant upon being tested by the Union government’s technology partner, the National Information Centre (NIC). The NIC functions under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).
On the sidelines of a press conference in Hyderabad, the complainant Kamal Soi, chairman of Raahat, told TNIE, “ In June, the NIC’s Smart Card Technology Division had confirmed to me that they had received 20 cards as samples with two different answers to reset (ATR). However, upon testing with an OEM tool to identify the chip maker and model, they found that 12 cards were non-compliant for chip-maker Samsung and chip model - S3K140A,”
In May, Soi alleged that the chips in the smart cards, supplied by Colorplast India Private Limited, were manufactured in China and vulnerable to data breaches. He said the chips did not comply with Smart Card Operating System for Transport Application (SCOSTA) guidelines.
On Monday, Soi displayed a letter from the former Transport Commissioner to the TGTSL and a show cause notice to Colorplast dated June 24 directing the latter to submit its response within 10 days.
“But to my knowledge, no response from Colorplast has been received by the department so far despite the passing of over three months,” he added and demanded the authorities blacklist the company from participating in any future tenders.
TNIE contacted Transport department officials regarding the allegations but has not received a response yet.