Ranchi: Taking an online test will be mandatory for getting a driving licence in Jharkhand as transport offices across all the 24 districts have started taking efforts in this direction following directives from the transport department.While the district transport office in Ranchi at the collectorate building in Kutchery rolled out the online test facility earlier this month, its counterpart in Jamshedpur and Dhanbad are expected to start the facility within the next fortnight. Other districts too are learnt to have initiated groundwork in this regard.Talking to TOI on Tuesday, Ranchi district transport officer Sanjiv Kumar said they began the online test facility on a pilot basis from February 1. “We have set up about two computers for this. Though not many people are aware about it yet, we are directing them for test facility first as they come in to apply for a licence,” he said.The test has 10 objective-type questions related to basic road signage and traffic rules and regulations. “Of the 10, the applicant has to correctly answer at least five questions to qualify for a learner’s licence. After this, they will have to appear for a physical test as per the usual norms before getting a permanent license,” he said.East Singhbhum (Jamhedpur) district transport officer Dinesh Kumar Ranjan said they are expecting to start the online test facility in a week. “We are currently installing the required infrastructure comprising two computers, seating area etc. By next week, we should formally launch the facility,” Ranjan said, adding the idea behind introducing online test facility is to ensure that people have basic knowledge of traffic rules.Dhanbad district transport officer Om Prakash said they too are gearing up for the same. “We are currently setting up four dedicated computers and an earmarked space along with required power and Internet connection to start the online test. If all goes well, we should be in a position to roll out the test in a fortnight,” he said.A few applicants who recently took the online test at Ranchi DTO office welcomed the move. “I applied for a licence at the Ranchi office three days ago. After paying the fee, I was asked to sit for an online test. I was surprised as I wasn’t aware about the test and was bit nervous. However, the questions were about basic knowledge like importance of signals, usage of zebra crossing etc. I scored 10 in the test,” said Sanjana Singh (23), a resident of Doranda.

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