HYDERABAD: The Telangana Transport Department has banned Colorplast Systems Private Limited, the supplier of smart cards for vehicle registration certificates (RCs) and driving licenses (DLs), from participating in future tender processes.
In an order dated September 18, the Transport Commission initiated legal action against the Delhi-based company due to unsatisfactory responses regarding compliance with the Smart Card Operating System for Transport Application (SCOSTA) guidelines established by the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH).
A report from MeitY’s National Informatics Centre (NIC) indicated that Colorplast provided non-compliant cards, violating several contractual conditions.
Concerns about data security have also emerged. In May, Kamal Soi, chairman of the Punjab-based NGO Raahat (The Safe Community Foundation), alleged that the chips manufactured in China were substandard and susceptible to data breaches, failing to meet SCOSTA norms.
During a recent press conference, Soi reported that the NIC’s Smart Card Technology Division had tested 20 sample cards, finding that 12 were non-compliant, particularly those using Samsung's S3K140A chip. The testing process revealed discrepancies in reset responses.
The order corroborated Soi’s allegations, stating that some sample smart cards did not comply with SCOSTA requirements, while others did. Soi also noted that Colorplast was awarded the tender at Rs 32 per chip, despite the actual market price for non-compliant chips being only Rs 3 to Rs 4, with SCOSTA-compliant chips priced around Rs 27 to Rs 28.