The details of driver license data and vehicles in the country have gone into the hands of private companies and the BJP government has allowed them in a bid to generate revenue. In 2019 alone, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, in response to a question from Congress MP Hussain Dalwai, said that the details were handed over for Rs 65 crore, vehicle owners for Rs 25 crore and driving license details for Rs 15 crore. He said the permit was within the ambit of the law and was granted during the last government tenure. This is where many questions arise. However, as far as the government is concerned, it is doubtful how secure the data will be at these private companies.
Is it legal or a violation of privacy?
There is also debate as to whether access to information held by the government to private individuals is legal or a violation of privacy. The decision appears to have been made as part of a bulk data sharing policy issued in March 2014. Gadkari said the use of the data would not only improve transport facilities and security but also benefit the automotive and transport sectors, adding that there were several restrictions on the permission of companies that share this data.
How they were handed
In September 2014, the government agreed to share information on vehicle owners and licenses in the country with private companies, for which Fast Lane Automotive Pvt Ltd (FLA) entered into an agreement. Still, that data distribution continues. There have also been allegations that the passage of this information from the NIC (National Informatics Centre) poses a threat to the security of personal information.
Only 5 paise per vehicle
While another company along with FLA came for bidding .. FLA won the tender. ‘TheWire.in’ had published an investigative article that gave details of each vehicle for 5 paise on a wholesale basis. At the same time, the company revealed that the value has increased abruptly. The FLA won the tender in 2014 when the BJP government came up with a data sharing policy under the Manmohan Singh government. According to the BJP government, the company’s value has increased 333 times since the tender was won and details of millions of vehicles across the country have not reached the company. Kodali Srinivas of Telugu States has published this article based on information gathered by the Right to Information Act. The company also found that 46 per cent of the FLA was owned by British companies. The article goes on to say that the data was being distributed to British companies by leaking vehicle details to the FLA.
Against the rules
The article also said that the Central Grace Period was also granted against the rules in the wake of the delay in the implementation of the agreement with the FLA, despite the NIC’s objections. Following the agreement, it was revealed that the company had entered into an agreement with a German company for data sharing. However, the report states that the German company refused to delete the details obtained by some officials.
Rs 100 crore target
Nitin Gadkari has recently made some key remarks in the wake of criticism over this data sharing. The vehicle and driver database set up for vehicle details sharing is expected to generate revenue of Rs 100 crore. Private companies can get the details of these vehicles for Rs 3 crore and research companies for Rs 5 crore, he said. In all, the details of nearly 200 million vehicles in the country and the details of over 35 crore driving licenses have gone into private hands.