It means instead of being tested by an inspector, they will have to take a simulated driving test.

The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) is developing the driving test for Delhi government.

“The basic aim of introducing simulated driving tests is not only to ensure that the tests are authentic and that no shortcuts are taken, but to also have no human interface during the entire process,” Delhi’s Transport Commissioner R K Verma said. He said the transport department is aware that it is “quite easy to bribe one’s way to get a driver’s licence. We want to stem such corruption.”

The pilot automated driving licence centre will function from the State Transport Authority’s Tilak Marg centre. Verma said the centre will be set up by March 15 and will become functional by April 1.

Once the process is in place, “the only time you will meet an official is when you go to get your learner’s licence,” the transport commissioner said. “At that point, the department will take all your details which will be fed into a computer.

“After that, the time you go for an actual licence depends entirely on you — when a person feels he/she is comfortable with driving, they can go to the centre and take the simulated test. The test will also incorporate things like an eye test and seeing whether the aspirant suffers from colour blindness.

“If you pass, the computer will issue your licence. If not, it will simply tell you to come back later.”

The Transport department has directed SIAM to hand in a project report within the next 15 days. Senior officials of the State Transport Authority and SIAM had discussed the issue on Thursday.

“This system is used in many countries,” SIAM’s director-general Dilip Chenoy said. “It is also used by the Civil Aviation Ministry and, among others, by Hero Honda to train their own people. So there is no reason why this cannot be replicated for mainstream use such as issue of licences.”

Counting the system’s advantages, Chenoy said for one it would expedite working at the transport department. “For the huge number of applications the transport department receives for licences, this is a much faster system,” he said. “It will also help with the backlog since it is not done manually.”