Alappuzha: Several applicants for the smart driving licences had to pay nearly thrice the mandated fee due to a software glitch on the first day to apply. Rs 805 was levied as fees instead of Rs 245 as the newly launched software faced a glitch.

Many people were not able to submit the application and make the payment on the first day. The functioning of the website was also affected as many people tried to submit the application at the same time. Though this issue has been partially resolved, the website continues to be ‘slow’.

The existing driving licence holders can convert it to PVC PET-G (smart licence) by submitting applications on the Sarathi software via the option ‘replacement of driving licence’. The registration fee of Rs 200 and the postal charge of Rs 45 will be levied. Instead of this Rs 805 was levied from several people.

The Motor Vehicles Department announced that the excess amount would be refunded.

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The website was made available to the public on April 21 before it was fully developed. The issue was resolved in the following days.

As reported earlier driving licences that come with security features are being rolled out in Kerala as per the norms of the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.

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The new security features are serial number, UV emblem, guilloche (pronounced gee-oh-shay) pattern, micro text, hot-stamped hologram, QR code and optically variable ink, most of which are available in an Aadhaar smart card.

(Guilloché is a decorative technique by which an intricate pattern is mechanically engraved into an underlying material.)

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