The Karnataka Transport Department has started issuing new smart cards for vehicle Registration Certificates (RC) and Driving Licences (DL) from December 1. These cards will be valid for five years. This change follows a government rule from March 2019 for uniform smart card formats across India. Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy stated, "The new cards are made of durable polycarbonate material and feature laser-engraved printing, a 64 KB microchip, and an NIC-generated QR code to enhance security and authenticity." A central printing unit in Bengaluru now handles all card printing. "The service provider will print and dispatch the cards to regional offices. Local RTOs and ARTOs will verify the data, complete KMS updates, and send the cards to applicants via speed post," Mr. Reddy added. At the printing facility, two advanced S-7000 smart card machines from Italy are installed. Each machine can print 500 to 600 cards per hour, totaling up to 16,000 cards daily. The Transport Department says this is the first such high-capacity printing in India. The card fee is ₹200. Out of this, ₹64.46 goes to the service provider, while the government keeps ₹135.54.