KATHMANDU, Jan 23: Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has directed the authorities to immediately provide driving licenses to the service-seekers, who are waiting for their turn for a long time.

During a joint meeting with the officials working on distribution of driving license cards, national identity cards and passports, the PM directed the officials to instantly distribute driving licenses to 1.4 million applicants seeking their driving license.

Stating that failing to get the driving license even after passing the examination for driving license is a serious issue, PM Dahal also cautioned the Department of Transport Management to ensure distribution of driving license. "Information technology is crucial in the current time, we have to give results based on integrated technology. For this, coordination among the state's mechanisms is needed," according to PM Prachanda.

On the occasion, the PM reminded the officials about his commitment to end the long queues in the government offices. The PM also asked the officials to increase their offices' efficiency and pay serious attention to ensuring quality service.

Likewise, the PM urged the officials to seriously think about developing our own source code. "We have the context to invite foreigners even to resolve minor technical issues. We cannot change everything overnight but we can gradually change while working in a planned way," the PM said, asking the officials to produce skilled human resources on their own.

During the meeting, Deputy Prime Ministers Purna Bahadur Khadka and Narayan Kaji Shrestha, Foreign Minister NP Saud, Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport Prakash Jwala, chief secretary Dr Baikuntha Aryal, Home Secretary Dinesh Bhattarai, Physical Infrastructure Secretary Keshav Kumar Sharma and chiefs of concerned Department were present.