MoRTH working on policy for safe sharing of national transport data

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) is implementing a policy initiative that will allow safe and secure sharing of critical data from the National Transport Repository (NTR) with states and the private sector. The move is aimed at ensuring uniformity and legal compliance in data sharing.

The ministry maintains critical data on vehicle registration certificates (RCs) and driver licenses (DLs) collected through the Vahan and Sarathi portals respectively, along with data recorded at time of generating e-Challan or eDAR (Electronic Detailed Accident Report) and National Electronic Toll Collection (NETC)-FASTag data. This data is collectively referred to as the NTR.

The data repository currently holds records of more than 390 million vehicles, 220 million DL, and data related to e-Challan, eDAR and NETC- FASTag.

"This policy provides clear guidelines in line with recent legal requirements regarding consent for sharing personal data," it said.

The policy outlines procedures and safeguards to ensure secure and lawful data sharing, supporting government functions, academic research, and promoting ease of living as well as doing business. Under this, a detailed framework covering datasets, modes of sharing, and the request and approval process for Vahan, Sarathi, eChallan, eDAR, and FASTag has been formalised.