Indian embassies and consulates abroad, including the GCC states, will soon facilitate the renewal of International Driving Permits (IDP) for citizens whose IDP has expired while they are abroad. "It has come to notice that for citizens who are in a foreign country, the International Driving Permit gets expired and there is no mechanism for its renewal while abroad," the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways here said in a press release. "Citizens can apply through Indian embassy/Mission abroad portals and the applications would then move to the VAHAN for being considered by the respective RTOs." VAHAN is the Indian government's integrated system for services such as vehicle registration, issuance of permits and payment of taxes under the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. RTOs stand for Regional Transport Offices, the organization of the Indian government responsible for maintaining a database of drivers. The new procedure for renewal of IDPs of Indians while they are abroad through Indian diplomatic missions is to be facilitated through an amendment to the Central Motor Vehicles Rules of 1989. The government is also seeking comments and suggestions from the public for such amendments. They can be sent to the Joint Secretary (MVL,IT & Toll), Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Transport Bhawan, Parliament Street, New Delhi-110 001 within 30 days or emailed to [email protected] Proposed amendments include removal of the requirement of a medical certificate and a valid visa at the time of making the request for an IDP while an Indian is abroad. "Further, there are many countries where visa is issued on arrival and in such cases the visa was not available when applying for the IDP in India before travel," the press release said. — WAM
