2 weeks Ago By Ajay Tomar
HYDERABAD: The state Transport department has debarred Colorplast Systems Private Limited, which supplies smart cards for vehicle registration certificates (RCs) and driving licences (DLs), from participating in future tender processes. In an order dated September 18, the Transport Commission initiated legal action against the Delhi-based company after its responses were deemed unsatisfactory regarding compliance with Smart Card Operating System for Transport Application (SCOSTA) guidelines set by the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highway (MoRTH). According to a report from MeitY’s National Informatics Centre (NIC), Colorplast supplied non-compliant cards, violating contractual conditions among other issues.
In May, Kamal Soi, chairman of the Punjab-based NGO Raahat (The Safe Community Foundation), alleged that the China-manufactured chips in the smart cards were substandard, vulnerable to data breaches and did not adhere to SCOSTA norms. On Monday, during a press conference, Soi told that the NIC’s Smart Card Technology Division had received 20 sample cards, which returned two different answers to reset (ATR). Testing with an OEM tool revealed that 12 of the cards were non-compliant, specifically for the chip-maker Samsung and the chip model S3K140A.
The order reiterated Soi’s claims, indicating that some sample smart cards were non-compliant with SCOSTA mandates while others met the requirements. Earlier, Soi stated that Colorplast was awarded the tender to provide chips for Rs 32 each, while the chips used in these cards are available for Rs 3 to Rs 4 and SCOSTA-compliant chips would cost around Rs 27 to Rs 28..
