This was revealed in response to a Right To Information (RTI) application filed by digital rights advocacy Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF). Private entities made nearly 17 million queries to India’s national vehicle databases between January 2024 and September 2026, in the months before the Centre discontinued data sharing with such firms on October 1.
The official Parivahan portal masks several of these details and requires an account verified through a mobile OTP.
MoRTH, meanwhile, disposed of IFF’s RTI application within two days, directing it to the ministry’s website and saying implementation of the Motor Vehicles Act fell under state and Union territory governments. IFF has challenged the ministry’s response and is filing a first appeal against NIC’s reply. The organisation has also called for a public list of entities granted access to transport data and stronger technical safeguards to prevent the resale of personal information.
The organisation also found that the vehicle information app it had tested remained available on Google Play Store as of October 17, continuing to advertise access to vehicle owners’ personal details.
NIC told IFF that API logs were retained for one year and SMS logs for six months, raising concerns about whether records needed for an investigation would remain available.
IFF has sought clarity on whether the move is permanent, whether recipients must delete previously obtained records, and whether vehicle owners will be informed about the unauthorised access While the discontinuation of private data sharing is a significant step.
