The excise department of Punjab has announced that smart card will replace one’s vehicle’s registration book. The new announced smart card will feature a near field communication chip which will display the information regarding the vehicle such as the chassis number of the vehicle and the expiry date of the token tax. Moreover, it will also hold the information detail of vehicle’s owner.
The new smart card will be just like smart NIC cards which the Federal Government had introduced in the country.
The project was announced by Punjab CM Shahbaz Sharif two year back but was delayed till now due to some unknown reasons. According to excise dept, the smart cards will be launched by November 2017.
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The excise department invited bidders to bid for Automated Registration Cards (ARC) in April 2017. After evaluating the bids, the winner will be awarded a contract by the end of July 2017.
Not only Pakistan but many other countries such as Dubai is also trying to make the country more digital. Recently the Government of Dubai has launched a new app named as Smart UAEWallet for its residents, enabling the citizens to use their smartphones as passports.
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Moving onward, in a bid to bring more transparency in electric bills, LESCO is also planning to automate electric meters with SIM cards. LESCO will install 1.8 million meters to check the feasibility of the project. Asian Development Bank will give Rs. 30 million as a loan to LESCO to run this project.
Feature Image Source: Gari.pk
