Centre to link driving license with Aadhaar, says Ravi Shankar Prasad

Union Minister for Law and IT Ravi Shankar Prasad today said the government was planning to link Driving License to Aadhaar.

"We are planning to link Driving Licence to Aadhaar. I have had a word with Nitin Gadkari regarding this," the minister said while speking to reporters.

The minister said the reason was to curb malpractices during the issuance of driving licences."If a drunk driver escapes from one state to another by killing people, he would be caught. A person can change name not not his/her finger prints," he said.

Earlier in April, it was reported that the Union cabinet had decided to link issue of driving licences and vehicle registration to Aadhaar. According to a report in the Mint, the government proposed an all-India register for vehicles and driving licences to ensure no duplication is done.

Nitin Gadkari reportedly said that measures like making vehicle registration and driving licences Aadhaar-based would help the authority to check registration of stolen vehicles.

The government has already made the Aadhaar mandatory for filing income tax, opening bank accounts, applying for PAN card and even for buying SIM cards. The Centre has also made linking Aadhaar mandatory with PAN card, bank accounts and phone number. The government believes that linking bank account with Aadhaar will curb money laundering. The government also believes that Aadhaar will make the verification process of driving licenses easier.

Driving Licenses are issued by the Road Transport Department of every state or the union territory. Thus, the online method to link Aadhaar with driving licenses varies from one state to another. However, the process as a whole will remain the same.

Here's how you can link driving licences with Aadhaar online:

Visit your state/UT road transport department's website.
Click on the "Link Aadhaar" option.
Now select the "Driving License" from the drop down menu.
Now enter your driving license number and click on the "Get Details" option.
Your driving license details will be displayed on the screen.
Enter your 12-digit Aadhaar number and mobile number in fields provided.
Remember that your mobile number should be the one registered with UIDAI.
Click on the "Submit" button to complete the process.
A confirmation message will be sent to your mobile number.
The process can be used at the websites of all state transport departments.