Delhi Transport department issues over 4,000 international driving permits for US and Canada

With the easing border restrictions on international travel, the demand for international driving permits has increased manifold this year. Owing to travel restrictions imposed in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, the demand for international driving permits was low in 2020 and 2021. The Delhi government's Transport Department has issued the maximum number of international driving permits where total of 4,286 international driving permits were issued between February and June 7 this year.

From February until June 7 this year, 986 international driving permits were issued for Canada while the number of such permits issued for the United States stood at 1,150, according to official data. The data showed that 116 permits were issued in February, 212 in March, 302 and 282 in April and May respectively for Canada. There were 74 such permits issued in the first week of this month.

The numbers of international driving permits issued for the US for individual months from February to May stood at 155, 242, 272 and 381 respectively. A hundred permits were issued in the week in June, data showed.

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During the same period, 442 international driving permits were issued to Delhiites for Great Britain and 335 for the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Meanwhile, France (116) and Ireland (111) also saw more than 100 permits being issued till June 7.

According to data by the department, 9,142 and 10,040 international driving permits were issued in 2018 and 2019. In 2020 and 2021, as many as 2,421 and 4,825 international driving permits were issued, respectively.

International driving permits are issued from various zonal offices with a validity of one year, the officials said. A senior official from the transport department said the numbers were lower in 2020 and 2021 since there were travel restrictions.

The international driving permit is required only by those who are travelling abroad. The official also asserted that there are no restrictions from the department's end. "In the last four months, the figures have gone up," he added. 

(With inputs from PTI)

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