Government Validates Digital Driving License And RC

What does it mean for vehicle owners?

For vehicle owners, this means that they won’t have to carry with them the physical papers, including driving license and RC, while driving. If the need arises, they can simply produce the digital version of documents. So, the next time a traffic police officer asks for your driving license, you can show the digital copy of your license on your phone. The original physical documents can be kept safely at home and there won’t be any fear of losing them.

However, this doesn’t mean that you can show a scanned copy of driving licence saved on your phone. You will have to use an online platform launched by the central government for this purpose.

How to use this facility?

In order to use this facility, you will need to upload your documents on DigiLocker, an online platform launched by the government. You will first need to download and install the DigiLock app and create an account on the same, for which you will have to verify your mobile number. Once the account has been created, you will need to provide the driving licence and RC numbers. The documents will be fetched directly from the central database connected with the Ministry of Road Transport and Highway. The entire process will be simple and the vehicle owners will be able to complete it within a few minutes.

Apart from DigiLocker, the documents can also be uploaded on mParivahan platform. A vehicle owner can produce digital copies stored on either of the two platforms.

What does it mean for authorities?

Digitization of vehicle documents is expected to help not just the vehicle owners but also law enforcement authorities. It will make it easier for the authorities to ensure the authenticity and genuineness of these documents. This, in turn, will make monitoring easier and more effective. Also, in case of an offence, there would be no need to seize the original documents. The authorities will be able to issue eChallans and impound the documents electronically on the online database. So it will be a win-win situation for both vehicle owners and law enforcement agencies.

Benefits for commercial vehicle owners

The move would help the owners and drivers of commercial vehicles such as the cabs, autos, trucks etc. In addition to driving licence and RC, the drivers of commercial vehicles are required to carry several other documents with them. Thanks to the digitization of vehicle documents, they will now be able to store all the documents digitally.

Carrying physical papers of vehicles, for both two wheeler and car owners, is a hassle. There is always a risk of papers getting lost or damaged. In case these papers are lost, the vehicle owners have to go through the arduous and time-consuming process of getting new papers. Thanks to the growing use of smartphones and reduced data tariffs, most vehicle owners carry smartphones these days. Therefore, using online platforms for producing digital copies of vehicle documents won’t be a hassle either.

In fact, DigiLocker platform will work offline as well. The vehicle owners will be able to produce digital documents even if they are not connected to the internet. These digital documents will also serve as an identity and address proof and the vehicle owners will be able to use them in other places as well. Thus, they will be able to do away with the need to carry identity proofs with them everywhere. Needless to say, the digitization of vehicle documents will go a long way when it comes to making the lives of vehicle owners easier.

Indian Government is aggressively pushing digitization across the country. These days, an increasing number of people use online platforms to pay money and avail various services. With this latest announcement, the government has taken another big step in the right direction.