As a vehicle owner, you must be aware of the need to carry the vehicle’s documents and documents about you when driving one; but it is a thing of the past. As the global economies are witnessing a transition to digital format, so are the vehicle documents. With the amendment issued by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, the Central Motor Vehicle Rules were modified in November 2018 that now permit the vehicle owner to carry documents like registration certificate, fitness certificate, pollution-under-control certificate, driving license, and other relevant documents like the insurance policy in electronic form.
For this purpose, two applications are authorized by the Ministry – DigiLocker and mParivahan. Now, you can carry a digital copy of the documents on your smartphone and access them on the fly. But you must note that a digital copy implies the one stored on either authorized application, not in an electronic format. When demanded, presenting these documents to traffic officials can help you save hefty penalties that otherwise might burn a hole in your pocket.
Let us look at how you can access these documents in both applications.
DigiLocker
Digilocker is an application that provides you with access to authentic digital documents and is an initiative of the Ministry of Electronics & IT (MeitY). The records stored in this application are valid simultaneously; otherwise, the physical copy is as per the Information Technology (Preservation and Retention of Information by Intermediaries Providing Digital Locker Facilities) Rules, 2016. This facility of DigiLocker can be accessed on mobile and the web for your convenience and is not limited to having a registration certificate, driving license, and motor insurance online, but a host of other documents like e-Aadhaar and more. Further, documents issued by institutions under the education, insurance, and banking sector can also be imported into this application.
The process of accessing your documents is simple, and it requires an Aadhaar-based verification. The next step is importing the documents linked to your Aadhaar number from the database. You will find your registration documents and car or two-wheeler insurance certificate here. However, this application cannot provide the facility to store pollution certificates, which means you still need to carry a physical copy.
mParivahan
mParivahan is an application specifically designed to save motor vehicle documents. Whether it is a private or commercial vehicle: personal motor or commercial vehicle insurance, registration certificate, pollution certificate, fitness certificate, along driving license can be stored on this application.
The process is fairly simple when compared to DigiLocker. Here you do not require any registration to view the documents. Roll is handy as you can travel conveniently without worrying about your vehicle’s documents. The sign-on process is OTP-based and linked to your registered mobile number. Here you can store virtual papers and share them with other family members driving the same vehicle.
Now that you know how to access your motor vehicle’s documents on the fly, never worry about physically carrying them, and enjoy the convenience of electronic storage in your smartphones.
