VAHAN Database – Vehicle information available in the public domain
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 13, 2020
After the recent Delhi riots, there were unsubstantiated allegations that people used the VAHAN database of the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways to identify & target vehicles belonging to people of a particular community. But what is this VAHAN database? What kind of information is available in the public domain?
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) allows people tocheck the registration status of vehicles in the Vahan website andapplication. Upon entering a vehicle’s registration number, one can get ownershipdetails of the vehicle including name of the owner etc. There were allegations on social media that the rioters in Delhi used thisprovision to target a certain religious community by burning the vehiclesbelonging to them.
Vahan and Sarathi are applications created by MoRTH in 2011 under the Nationale-Governance Policy. They are designed, maintained, and supported by theNational Informatics Centre. Vahan is a data repository of all vehiclesregistered in the country while Sarathi consists of computerized data on DrivingLicenses in India. MoRTH also has an application called, mParivahan,through which one can get instant access to information, services andutilities. As on 12 March 2020, as per Vahan website, there is a total of 285,768,212digitized vehicles. That is, data of more than 28.5 crore vehicles is available in Vahan website and application.
Bulk data sharing by government is based on National
Data Sharing and Accessibility Policy
The National Data Sharing and Accessibility Policy is India’s policy for sharing data by the governmentin the open formats. The policy makes it easier to share data and increase itsaccessibility for social, economic, and developmental reasons. It is clearlymentioned that only non-sensitive data will be available. As per the policy,all departments and ministries must make a list of datasets which areconfidential in nature and may pose a threat to national security if they areplaced in the public domain. Vahan and Sarathi databases are supposed to be sharedin conformity with this policy.
The following information can be obtained in the VAHAN application andwebsite when one inputs the registration number of the vehicle.
The last but four alphanumeric characters in the Chassis number andEngine number are hidden in the display.
Allegations that rioters in Delhi used government’s
application to target cars of one community
The allegation on social media was that the attackers made use of theapplication, in order to identify vehicles belonging to Muslims and then burntthem down. However, there is no concrete evidence to back this claim. Followingthis claim, an NGO has written to the government asking it to stop public access of VAHANdata.
State specific websites also provide details on vehicle registration and driving license
In addition to VAHAN,  multiple statesalso have their own websites which provide access to vehicle details. But thedetails that need to be entered (input) and information that is displayed vary.The transport department’s webpage of most of the states- Jharkhand, HimachalPradesh, Meghalaya, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, WestBengal, and Delhi redirects the user to the MoRTH’s Vahan website.
Only Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha,Punjab, Telangana, and Tripura have their own websites to search for vehicleregistration details. In the following table, the information required (input)to access the required data in the respective state websites have been listed.
Applicant’s basic details are recorded in Karnataka before providing details on vehicle registration
In Karnataka, citizens can get vehicle owner’s information from ‘Karnataka One’ centersin the state. To get an extract of the registration certificate of the vehicle,one must provide the registration number of the vehicle. They will receive thename of owner, RTO code and vehicle chassis number. A nominal amount must bepaid by cash to retrieve RC extract. Currently, the charges are Rs. 18. Detailsof applicant such as name, contact number, and address will be recorded.
Madhya Pradesh’s website even reveals address of
vehicle owners
Madhya Pradesh’s website reveals lot more information about the registeredowner like
The websites of Kerala, AP, and Chhattisgarh, like inthe case of the VAHAN,  provide detailsof registration, tax related information, vehicle’s model and type, manufacturer,financier, and NOC. Kerala’s website gives more specifications of the vehiclesuch as body type and capacity. Andhra Pradesh gives only the last five digitsof Chassis number and Engine number whereas Kerala government does not give outthe Chassis number.
Thus, the level of display & amount of information available in thepublic domain is different in different states. While registration number ofthe vehicle is easily available from the number plates, which are visible toall, government can restrict access to the data by asking for Chassis number orEngine number which, in most cases, will be available only with the vehicleowner. Even though states like Telangana and Tripura have tried to restrictaccess, the requisite data of these states is also available in the nationallevel portal.
It is also true that in the case of certain classes of vehicles likecommercial vehicles with permits,  schoolbuses, ambulances etc., information has to be available in the public domain.
In March 2019, MoRTH announced policy on bulk sharing
of Vahan and Sarathi database
On 08 March 2019, in a step towards monetization of data, MoRTH released an advisory that bulk data collected under Vahan andSarathi pertaining to Vehicle License and Driving License respectively will beshared at specified rates. MoRTH, in the advisory, mentioned that theincreasing demand for this data can be met with the help of this policy. Commercialorganizations and individuals could avail the data for Rs. 3 crores andeducational institutions and researchers could avail the same for Rs. 5 Lakhsin 2019-20. From 2020-21, an annual increase of 5% in the price will beapplicable.
Government has earned a revenue of Rs.65 crores by
selling data in three months
As of July 2019, as per the answer provided by the Minister of Road Transport in the Rajya Sabha,  governmenthad the data of about 25 crore vehicle registrations and approximately 15 croredriving license records, from the sale of which the government had earned arevenue of Rs. 65 crores. Further, 32 government entities and 87 privateentities had access to this data.
Possibility of misuse of this data cannot be ruled out
The data available in the public domain is helpful for people who wishto buy second-hand vehicles as they can cross check details and validate itshistory. It will also be beneficial for insurance companies in the claim process.In the case of school buses, the fitness certificates would be handy forparents to cross check the fitness of the vehicles.
However, there are contrarian arguments about the possible misuse ofsuch a database. In fact, the Ministry itself has acknowledged the possibilityof triangulation in the policy. The advisory also lists the action takenagainst the violator which is a ban from accessing the data for three years.
India does not have a data protection law yet
It is important that government takes the consent of people beforeexposing their data in the public domain. One should also remember that Indiadoes not have a data protection law yet. The Personal Data Protection Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha in December 2019. TheBill has been sent to the Joint Parliamentary Committee for further deliberations.
In July 2019, FACTLY wrote to MoRTH to understand more about the datasharing policy. However, despite multiple follow ups, MoRTH hasn’t responded tothe below questions.
ORF has published a detailed assessment of the policy
A detailed assessment of Bulk Data Sharing Policy was published by the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) in December 2019. ORF made a slew ofrecommendations regarding this policy.