India Proposes Stricter Driving Licence Assessment Requirements

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has proposed draft amendments to the Central Motor Vehicles Rules to tighten the requirements for obtaining a driving licence. The proposal increases the qualifying threshold for the safe-driving tutorial assessment from 60 per cent to 75 per cent and mandates that the tutorial last at least 30 minutes.

To streamline administration, the ministry proposes waiving fees for specific online licence services completed via Aadhaar authentication, such as updating personal details like name and address. Licensing authorities would be required to process these change requests within 15 days.

The draft also specifies acceptable identity and residence documents, including passports and voter IDs, and mandates that all issued or renewed licences be provided as laminated or Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) cards. The government is seeking stakeholder feedback and objections within 30 days of the notification's publication.