Govt colleges to issue learner’s licence

NEW DELHI: Come August, students of colleges funded by the Delhi government will get a learner’s driving licence from their campus itself.

To get a licence, those who are 18 years or above and are studying in a college fully funded by the Delhi government will have to pass an online driving test. The new thing is that instead of going to a motor licensing office to take the driving test, as is the current practice, students will be able to take the online exam in their college itself.

Transport minister Kailash Gahlot said the government is going to start the service at four colleges initially. These include Delhi University’s Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies and Acharya Narendra Dev College. Others include GB Pant Institute of Technology and Industrial Training Insti- tute, Pusa.

“After doing back and forth between various departments for over a year, the file on empowering college principals to issue learner’s licence for driving got all the necessary clearances last week. This will be a first and a landmark service because data shows that over 53% of those who take learners’ licence in Delhi fall in the age bracket of 18-25 years,” the minister said, adding that only electronic payment for a learner’s licence will be accepted in colleges.

In fact, 18 to 25 year olds also top in getting permanent driving licences as nearly 55% of the cards issued went to those falling under this age group, Gahlot said. However, to get a permanent driving licence, the student will have to visit any of the 13 motor licensing offices across the city as it involves giving a driving test.

Once launched in the four colleges, the service will gradually be expanded to cover all Delhi government colleges and 10 others from DU. “The proposal earlier included all DU colleges too. But the law department denied as the Motor Vehicles Act states that licence issuing authority can only be a Delhi government official. The revised proposal also includes polytechnics and Industrial Training Institutes (ITIS),” an official in the state transport department said.

Explaining the process, officials said the online test would be conducted once a week by the college in its computer lab. “Students will be able to take the test either in English or Hindi. The test is of 10 minutes duration and will have 10 objective type questions. The minimum marks to obtain the learner’s licence will be six,” another official said.

The department stated that only students of the notified college will be allowed to apply for the learner’s licence. “A notification on the eligible colleges offering the service will be out by the end of this month. We are expecting a roll out of the service from August,” the official said.

The state transport authority receives around five lakh applications for learner’s licence every year out of which around three lakh are approved.