City-zens keen to test driving skills on foreign soil
Chandigarh: Going by a steep increase in demand for international driving licence (permit) over the last five years, the craze for driving at international locations is apparently on the rise among the city residents.
According to a data compiled by the registering and licencing authority (RLA) of the Chandigarh administration, the demand for international licence increased from 806 in 2015 to 1,232 in 2019.
In these last five years, a total of 4,639 residents applied and got international driving licence from the RLA.
The RLA data suggests that 806 applicants got the international driving license from the authority in the year of 2015, followed by 816 in 2016, 826 in 2017 and 959 in 2018, while number went up to 1,232 in 2019.
Although the authority does not have exact country-wise data, sources revealed that Canada remained the top priority for applicants to apply for international licence, followed by Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United State of America.
The RLA data suggests that 806 applicants got the international driving license from the authority in the year of 2015, followed by 816 in 2016, 826 in 2017 and 959 in 2018, while number went up to 1,232 in 2019.
Although the authority does not have exact country-wise data, sources revealed that Canada remained the top priority for applicants to apply for international licence, followed by Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United State of America.
Besides the youngsters, people from different age categories also came to the authority seeking international licences. “Currently, we don’t make a data of countries where people are going to use the international license, but while talking to them, majority of the applicants said they would go to Canada or Australia,” an official said.
The authority official said, “The craze to get international licence has been increasing over the past years consistently. Besides those seeking licences for professional purposes, many youngsters going to foreign countries for studies are also quite eager to make international licence.”
BOX:
How to get int’l DL
For obtaining an international driving licence, the applicant has to first fill the forms and obtain a medical fitness certificate from a recognised MBBS doctor. After that, the applicant has to submit a copy of valid passport, visa, air ticket and domestic driving licence, passport size pictures and deposit a fee of Rs 1,000. Thereafter, the authority verifies the documents and then issues the international driving licence. The licence is provided within a day post submission of the documents and the fee
Rise in demand
Year | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019
January | 39 | 47 | 52 | 73 | 65
February | 40 | 45 | 44 | 58 | 65
March | 65 | 48 | 48 | 54 | 92
April | 69 | 61 | 58 | 68 | 119
May | 90 | 106 | 90 | 145 | 146
June | 99 | 72 | 83 | 107 | 125
July | 118 | 96 | 69 | 74 | 117
August | 81 | 118 | 110 | 88 | 139
September | 40 | 57 | 49 | 79 | 88
October | 50 | 31 | 57 | 58 | 75
November | 48 | 57 | 60 | 60 | 89
December | 67 | 78 | 106 | 95 | 112
Total | 806 | 816 | 826 | 959 | 1,232
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