Smart Cards to replace driving licences in Andaman

Port Blair, Aug 22: Motorists in Andaman and Nicobar Islands will soon start using multi-utility smart cards, which would replace traditional driving licences.

''We are ready with the system and will soon be introducing the Smart Cards in these remote islands, which will serve as licence vehicle registration and also carry a range of information,'' Mr Ashok Chand, Superintendent of Police of Andaman District told sources yesterday.

Mr Chand said Smart Cards would be introduced here only in the first phase and soon the facility would be extended to other remote islands.

Apart from licensing and registration information, the cards would store information such as past traffic offences, validity of tax and insurance, pollution details and permit.

These details can be read by swiping them with hand-held readers, which would be given to enforcement personnel.

The licence of a motorist, who indulges in a third traffic rule violation, would be suspended and cancelled.

''After introduction of Smart Cards, we will be able to get any information about the card-holder within a minute,'' the SP added.

The system would be introduced in Andaman with the help of a private firm in Andaman and the Police is also planning to buy sufficient Card Readers.

However, experts claim the cards have room for more innovation, when the initial memory of 16KB or 32KB is expanded, allowing the user to store more personalised data.

In first phase, Smart Cards would be given to new licence applicants and soon all the old licences would be replaced, regarding which advertisement would be floated in local newspapers, Mr Chand added.

The Smart Cards, which are an initiative of the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, are to be implemented in all states.

Smart Cards had already been introduced in some places of Hyderabad and other South Indian States.

UNI