Delhi Transport Department is to begin issuing drivers in the Indian capital with digital driving licences and vehicle registration certificates in the form of QR code-enabled contactless smart cards that link to records held on central online databases.
The new cards will allow police and other officials to access and verify information about an individual driver or vehicle by scanning the QR code on the relevant smart card with a mobile device.
The city’s current driving licences store information on a chip embedded in a card “but there have been issues with reading the information coded into the chip, [and] chip reader machines were not available in required quantity with both the Delhi Traffic Police and the Enforcement Wing of the Transport Department,” Delhi’s regional government says.
“Moreover, chips were designed and implemented by the states concerned, which resulted in difficulties in reading the chip and retrieving information, especially in case of defaulters.
“The department will be able to retain records and penalties of the DL [driving licence] holder for up to 10 years on the Vahan database as soon as a driver/owner’s smart card is confiscated.
“The new DLs will also help the government in maintaining records of differently abled drivers, any modifications made to the vehicles, emission standards and the person’s declaration to donate organs.”
Delhi to issue smart card with QR code for driving licence and vehicle registration verification was written by Tom Phillips and published by NFCW.