Driving license goes digital

The Ministry of Road Transport has issued a notification stating that digital driving licenses and vehicle’s registration certificates stored in DigiLockers are now legally recognised at par with the original documents as per the IT Act 2000 and is valid under the Motor Vehicles Act 1988. The DigiLocker platform has been built by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, and has the facility to pull a citizen’s Driving Licence or the Registration Certificate or any other certificate in an electronic form. Data related to the insurance of new vehicles as well as the renewal date of a car’s insurance is also being uploaded by the Insurance Board (IB) on the Government’s Vahan database, claim sources. The same will be reflected on the mParivahan (eChallan) app. of the ministry, they add. If the vehicle registration details on the mParivahan (eChallan) app. contain the details of the policy which is in effect, then the requirement of a physical copy of the insurance certificate is also not to be enforced. During an offence when the documents are required to impound a vehicle, the law agency can access the Vahan.Sarthi database online through the eChallan system, thereby eliminating the need to seize such documents physically.