On 29th October 2015, Meghalaya Transport Minister, Shri HDR Lyngdoh launched the Vahan 4.0 and Sarathi 4.0, online software applications for registration of vehicles and issuance of driving licenses respectively at the Conference Hall, Main Secretariat, Shillong. Both the applications have been designed and developed by National Informatics Centre- Transport Division, New Delhi.
In this new version of Vahan, data entry has been immensely simplified, as only minimal information relating to the vehicle (Chassis number, Engine number, Name and Address of the owner, manufacturer’s name and model of the vehicle) is required to be provided. The remaining information is automatically fetched by the application from a central server, where the respective vendors maintain a repository of information of all newly manufactured vehicles, across the country. During registration, information which is provided is verified against those that are registered everywhere in the country. This ensures payment of taxes, in the place where the vehicle was originally registered. This online interface thus allows citizens to avail the different services such as Payment of Road Taxes and Renewal of Registrations from their residence.
Sarathi version 4.0, for issuance of Driving Licenses offer online services, wherein an applicant can apply for Learner’s License online from any location, and complete all the required procedures. The applicants need to visit the office of the DTO only for capturing the biometric thumb impression, Signature, Photograph and for verification of documents submitted against the originals. Once this process is completed, Learner’s License will be issued with which the applicant can further apply for Driving License later. Meghalaya has now become the fifth State in the country and first in the North East to implement Vahan 4.0 and Sarathi 4.0.