The Hindu : Front Page : Drivers, get smart from today

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Thursday, Jun 25, 2009
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Drivers, get smart from today

S. Rajendran

Smart cards to be launched in five RTOs in Bangalore on Thursday

— Photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy

Hi-tech: A file photo of the staff of Transport Department working on the smart card driving licence and registration certificate project in Bangalore.

Bangalore: Karnataka has opted for mandatory migration to smart cards for motor vehicle driving licences and for certificate of registration for vehicles.

All driving-licence holders and owners of motor vehicles have to obtain smart cards within two years as stated in a Government Order to be issued on Thursday.

There are nearly 76 lakh motor vehicles registered in the State, and nearly 65 lakh driving licences have been issued by the 55 regional transport offices.

The State Government has tied up with a consortium of four companies led by the public sector ITI. The others are Rosemarta, Mynd Solutions and Team Computers. According to the agreement, they have been assigned the responsibility of providing the hardware needed for issuing smart cards to one crore driving-licence holders and for one crore registration certificates after which a fresh agreement will be signed.

Sources in the State Government told The Hindu that Karnataka had opted for a full-fledged changeover to the smart card unlike other States where owners of motor vehicles and driving-licence holder have been given the option to opt for the smart card. Gujarat, Maharashtra and Orissa have adopted the smart card system in select RTOs, but the number of RTOs issuing the smart card in these States is limited to a few.

All States have been directed to change over to the smart card system following amendments to Rule 16 of the Central Motor Vehicles Act and Rules, which governs the issue of registration certificates, and Rule 48, which governs the issue of driving licences.

The National Infomatics Centre has prepared the software to be made over to all the States: Vahan (for registration of vehicles) and Sarathy (for driving licences). Tamil Nadu will switch over to the smart card system shortly for which tenders have been floated.

Commissioner for Transport Bhaskar Rao said the issuing of smart cards would be launched on Thursday in five RTOs in Bangalore and, in the coming week, it would be extended to the remaining five RTO’s here.

The smart card facility would be extended to all the RTOs in the State by September, he said. The cost of a ‘smart’ driving licence and registration certificate will be Rs. 200 each.

Along with the introduction of the smart card system, the Transport Department will be supplying 1,000 readers (hand-held machines to read the smart card) to traffic police and enforcement personnel in the Transport Department.

These machines will read the cards for ownership details of a vehicle or the offences committed and fines paid by a driver.

At the end of the two-year deadline for all drivers to possess smart cards, police and the transport department personnel will regularly update details to be stored in the driving licence, which will enable them to terminate a licence in the event of repeated offences.

Mr. Rao said the introduction of the smart card for registration certificate would go a long way in preventing the sale of motor vehicles using fake RC books.

Every time a vehicle is sold, the smart card of the vehicle would be updated with ownership details. Each smart card would have a 16 KB microchip embedded in the card, he said.

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