Why in news?
The union government is planning to launch a digital national vehicle registry portal called Vahan.
What is it Vahan?
- Vahan intends to collate all the information available with road transport authorities for easy access by both citizens and regulators.
- Data available with over 90 per cent of all road transport authorities have been computerised for this purpose.
- Vahan contains about 21.68 crore vehicle records in its repository.
- Vahan allows access to all details related to vehicles such as registration number, chassis/engine number, body/fuel type, colour, manufacturer and model and provides various online services to citizens.
- Driving Licence and related data are automated through a separate application called ‘Sarathi’.
What are its significance?
- It helps in centralisation of data through the creation of the State and National Registries under Vahan.
- It also helps address the needs of RTOs, police and motor insurers.
- It has been customised to suit the varied requirements of all States and Union Territories.
- Vahan has been designed to capture all the information mandated by the Central Motor Vehicle Act 1988 as well as State Motor Vehicle Rules.
- Banks, which may have given out loans for vehicle purchases, will also have access to the National/State Registry to track the status of vehicles under lien.
What are the advantages of the initiative?
- With Vahan, multiple visits to the RTO, extensive paperwork, queues, middlemen and bribes, will be eliminated
- Vahan helps carry out most of the RTO related transactions including payments in online which makes the process transparent.
- The need for ‘No objection certificate’ for transfers will be eliminated since all RTOs will have access to the centralised data.
Source: Business Line
