While the government plans to introduce a law to make Aadhaar-driving licence linking mandatory, individuals can do it voluntarily by visiting your state or UT RTO website. (Photo: PTI)
HIGHLIGHTS
- It will help in better identification of licence holders
- The move will help avoid duplication of driving licences
- While a plan to link driving licence and Aadhaar was proposed last year, there is no clear framework that mandates it
Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Sunday (January 6) announced that the government would soon make it mandatory to link driving licence with Aadhaar card. The proposal was announced by the law minister days after the Aadhaar amendment bill was passed in the Lok Sabha.
Prasad said a law will soon be introduced for mandatory linking of Aadhaar card and driving licence.
At a time when linking Aadhaar with personal documents has been subject to severe criticism, here are a few key points you need to know about the new proposed law:
Avoiding duplication
One of the key reason behind the government’s intention to link driving licence with Aadhaar card is to crack down on illegal duplication of licences. At present, it is easy to get duplicate licences by approaching different Regional Transport Offices (RTO). This is a reason of concern for the government as many people misuse the document.
Better identification
The government claims that the move will help immensely in identifying licence holders. For instance, a person guilty of committing an accident often flees the scene and get another duplicate licence. However, linking Aadhaar with driving licence will allow easy identification in such cases.
With the Aadhaar linkage you can change your name but you cannot change your biometrics, neither iris nor fingerprints, said Prasad. The moment one goes to opt a duplicate licence, the system will clearly inform authorities to not issue another driving licence to the person.
Payment of fines
Having Aadhaar linked to driving licence will also ensure that people pay fines that have been issued. As of now, many people either void paying the penalties for long durations or just get a new licence made if the fine amount is too high. Linking of Aadhaar with driving licence will also help in solving such instances.
How to link
While the government plans to introduce a law to make Aadhaar-driving licence linking mandatory, individuals can do it voluntarily by visiting your state or UT RTO.
Once on the website, you have to select the link Aadhaar’ option. After that, you have to enter your driving licence number and click on get details’.
Once your details are displayed on the screen, enter the 12-digit Aadhaar number along with linked mobile number. Once done, click on submit to complete the process. A confirmation text will be sent to your mobile number.
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