Digital copies of driver's license, car papers will soon be acceptable
In the latest report in the news, it seems like the government is now planning to make things easier for motorists in terms of all the paperwork they need to carry while on the road. Advancements in technology will soon require all motorists to produce only digital copies of important documents like driver’s license, pollution certificate, vehicle papers etc.
Authorities will have to accept digital documents of vehicle owners
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has issued an advisory to all states regarding this latest development. It basically says that from now on, drivers need not provide traffic authorities with hard copies of their car documents or driver’s license.
However, what vehicle owners will have to do is ensure that all these documents are digitized. This can be done simply by uploading them to the government's cloud-based service DigiLocker or mParivahan platform as valid under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. These digital copies can then be presented whenever necessary to the inquiring authority through the owner’s smartphone or any similar handheld digital device. They can also be shared with other departments as identity and address proof.
This system would also be applicable not just to private vehicle owners but taxi, auto and truck operators as well. They are always required to have multiple documents on hand to show the traffic authorities. Storing them in electronic form and being able to produce these digital copies would benefit them a great deal.
In case of necessity to impound the vehicle’s documents, the same would be reflected electronically through the ‘E-Challan’ system.
The reason for these amendments is that there were a lot of grievances and RTI applications that were filed regarding citizens saying that authorities were not accepting digital copies of their vehicle documents and driver’s license.
For more information on other developments with the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways read up here.
Information credit
Economic Times
ItsGoa/OCT/KDGP
