After PAN (permanent account number) and mobile number, the Union government now plans to link Aadhaar with driving licences.
Although no deadline has been finalised, IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has discussed the matter with Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari. Speaking at Haryana Digital Summit, Prasad said, “We are planning to link driving licence with Aadhaar. I have had a word with Gadkari regarding this.”
The minister said the reason was to curb malpractices during the issuance of driving licences. After the linking, Prasad said, the system would identify if a person tries to get another driving licence using a fake identity.
The move comes at a time when the Supreme Court is yet to rule on whether Aadhaar violates privacy. The apex court has already declared privacy as fundamental right.
Prasad said the decision to link PAN card with Aadhar was taken to stop money laundering.
The government has also made it mandatory to link mobile numbers with Aadhaar by December this year as also the bank accounts.
Last year, the government had announced that people can now keep their driving licences and vehicle registration certificates in DigiLocker. The move was aimed at facilitating access to documents anytime and anywhere, eliminating the need to carry them in person. The digital driving licence and vehicle registration documents would be available on citizens’ cellphones and can be accessed through DigiLocker mobile application. The documents will be considered authentic by various law enforcement authorities, including the traffic police.