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India ready to put driving licences onto smartphones

NEW DELHI — The paper or plastic driving licence could be consigned to history as India announces that it will allow motorists to store the documents on their smartphones.

NEW DELHI — The paper or plastic driving licence could be consigned to history as India announces that it will allow motorists to store the documents on their smartphones.

Under its proposals, the information will be kept in the cloud, with drivers able to keep digital copies of both their licences and car registration documents on their phones, reported media company Mashable. They will need to install an app called DigiLocker on their device and register with the service.

The police in India have confirmed they will recognise documents presented for inspection on smartphones.

India launched DigiLocker last year, encouraging people to store official paperwork including identification documents, voter ID cards and college certificates in the cloud. The purpose of the DigiLocker initiative is to reduce administrative expense and streamline government processes.

In the United States, Iowa is encouraging drivers to keep an electronic version of their driving licence on their phones. It would work in a similar way to electronic boarding passes used by many airlines.

One advantage of an electronic licence is that it would be quicker for police to check if they pull a motorist over.

In Britain, the days of the traditional paper train ticket, which has been used by passengers for more than 170 years, also appear to be numbered. The industry and the government have been working on a smart card that could be used on all public transport. Earlier this year, the industry was reported to have set an eight-year deadline for the transition, which would see passengers using smart cards or their phones to store their tickets. THE TELEGRAPH

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