Starting 2019 driving licenses to be uniform across India

From next year your driving experience is about to change, atleast legally. The goverment has decided that from next year, 2019, in July we will have a uniform driving license(DL) across the nation. Right now states are using their personalized licenses and have different designs and colors. This makes checking and using licenses in different states difficult.

There is a also a plan in action where the driving licenses of individuals will be connected to the Aadhar Card of the person.

Some facts about the new licenses coming in 2019 are-

1. Both the DLs and RCs(registration certificate) will have embedded microchips with QR codes, which can be scanned to get driver details from the Sarthi portal, and vehicle details from the Vahan portal.
2.  Both the RC and DL will have the near-field communication (NFC) feature, like Metro and ATM cards, so traffic enforcers with hand-held devices can swipe the card and access relevant details.
3. The new DL will have a driver’s declaration to donate organs and mention if the driver is driving a specially-designed vehicle meant for the physically challenged.
4. The vehicle’s emission norms will be mentioned on the RC so that pollution tests can be carried out objectively. The tester will not have to ask vehicle owner for vehicle details, according to a road transport ministry official quoted in a leading publication.
5. If anyone goes for license renewal or re-registration of their vehicles, the transport authorities will issue the new DLs and RCs so that the old ones will get replaced gradually.

These norms are going to bring a lot of change in the way people apply and use driving licenses.

It will make the work of police officers and other officials simpler too. Travelling and relocating to another city with a uniform license will be a better deal too.