New vehicle registration, driving licence cards to feature microchip, NFC

The government will issue uniform vehicle registration cards (RC) and driving licences (DL) from 1 October 2019. The road transport and highway ministry issued a notification last week stating that all the states across India will follow the same norms for these documents.[caption id="attachment_6235461" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Indian Union Driving Licence. Image: Overdrive[/caption]The new driving license will have an advanced microchip with features such as a quick response (QR) code and near field communication (NFC) i.e a similar technology used in ATM/credit cards. The updated technology will help the centre to retain records and penalties of the driver up to ten years on the centralised online database. The new licence will also hold records of differently abled (handicap) drivers and the changes done to their vehicles according to their preference. The new driver's licence will also carry the person's declaration to donate organs.[caption id="attachment_6235471" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Indian Union Vehicle Registration. Image: Overdrive[/caption]Speaking of the registrations cards, the centre will also go paperless with the registration of the vehicles from 1 October 2019, and ditch the paper-based registration certificate provided in some states of India. The registration card will also carry similar features as the new driver's license and will also have the owner's name printed on the front along with the other registrations details. The microchip and the QR code will be embedded at the back of the new registration card.