Government of India mandates installation of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags on the medium and heavy motor vehicles through the proposed rule 138A of the Central Motor Vehicle Rules, 1989, according to Gazette of India. The filing states that medium and heavy vehicles manufactured on or six months after the date of the final notification will be fitted with RFID tags for the purpose of Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) or any other application mentioned by the Central Government. There is no clear information on the ways in which the government intends to use the RFID tags installed. Issues: This mandate could lead to several issues which have not been addressed by the government, so far: - According to a Centre for Internet & Society report, the section 110 of the Motor Vehicles Act (MV Act), 1988, presently does not allow the government to create rules in respect to RFID tags. So it appears that there is technically no legal grounds for the RFID tag mandate by the government. - This mandate would also mean that the government could essentially track any vehicle at any point of time with RFID tag readers without the consent of the vehicle owner. This could further hit our privacy, especially in the light of the Central Monitoring System (CMS) that is to be installed in 10 circles out of 22 circles in the country by the end of this year. The government has not been very clear about what the CMS would include and what its implications…
