Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has issued a notification to facilitate the issuance of International Driving Permit (IDP) for Indian citizens whose IDP has expired while they are abroad.
- There was no mechanism for its renewal while citizens were abroad and their IDP expired.
- After this amendment, Indian citizens can apply for renewal through Indian Embassies and Missions abroad, from where these applications will move to the VAHAN portal in India, to be considered by the concerned Road Transport Officers (RTOs).
- The International Driving Permit will be couriered to the citizen at his or her address abroad by the respective RTOs.
- The Ministry said that the notification also removes the conditions of a Medical Certificate and a valid visa at the time of making the request for the IDP in India.
- The idea is that a citizen who has a valid driving licence should not have a requirement for another medical certificate.
- Further, there are countries where the Visa is issued on arrival or Visa is issued at the last moment and in such cases, VISA is not available when applying for the IDP in India before travel. Therefore, IDP application can now be made without VISA.
(Source: AIR)
