Nitin Gadkari promises speedier process for driving licenses

Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari speaks during a television talk show in Mumbai on Friday. Pic/PTI

In future, Regional Transport Offices (RTOs) will have to issue driving licenses within a stipulated time after a person passes a computerised drivingtest, Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari said today. He was speaking at an event organised by a news channel here.

"To check the menace of bogus driving licences, we are opening 2,000 motor training centres across the country ...where licence seekers would go for the test. Their driving performance will be checked by computers," Gadkari said. "After (the applicant) passing the test, the result will be shared with the concerned RTO, which will issue the driving license within three days. If they do not issue the licence within three days, they will be held accountable and will be fined," the senior minister said.

It is very easy to get a driving license in India, and 30 per cent of driving licences in the country are fake, the minister said. His ministry was taking several initiatives to curb road accidents, Gadkari said.

His ministry introduced amendments to the Motor Vehicles Act by studying traffic rules from the USA, UK, Germany, Japan, Singapore and Argentina, he said, adding that the amendments, passed by the Lok Sabha, are likely to be cleared by the Rajya Sabha in the next few weeks. His aim is to reduce the number of accidental deaths on roads by 50 per cent during his tenure, the senior cabinet minister said.