02 July,2026 02:26 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
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More than 62.86 lakh passengers across Maharashtra have registered for the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation's (MSRTC) National Common Mobility Card (NCMC), with over 35.52 lakh cards activated as of June 30, according to Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik.
The state government has made the NCMC smart card mandatory from August 1, 2026, for women, senior citizens and beneficiaries under the Amrit Senior Citizen category to avail themselves of eligible travel concessions on MSRTC buses.
The Transport Department has urged eligible passengers who have not yet completed the registration process to visit authorised enrolment centres before the deadline to avoid any disruption in accessing concession benefits.
According to official data, 6,286,765 passengers have registered under the NCMC initiative across Maharashtra, while 3,552,332 smart cards have been activated.
The remaining registered applicants are expected to complete the activation process over the coming weeks as the corporation steps up enrolment and activation efforts across the state.
The NCMC project is part of MSRTC's broader plan to modernise its ticketing system and digitise passenger services while streamlining the distribution of concession benefits.
Among all MSRTC regions, the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar region has recorded the highest participation in the NCMC programme, with 1,593,256 passenger registrations. Of these, 886,473 smart cards have already been activated.
The Pune region ranked second with 1,471,436 registrations, followed by the Nashik region with 1,438,069 registrations.
The figures indicate significant adoption of the smart card initiative across several regions of the state ahead of its mandatory implementation.
At the divisional level, Jalgaon recorded the highest number of registrations with 463,230 passengers enrolled under the scheme.
It was followed by Ahilyanagar with 395,515 registrations, Satara with 348,418, Solapur with 342,242, Buldhana with 331,011 and Beed with 327,709 registrations.
Officials said registration and card activation drives are continuing across all divisions to increase coverage before the August deadline.
The National Common Mobility Card will become mandatory for women, senior citizens and eligible beneficiaries from August 1 to access concession schemes offered by MSRTC.
Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik appealed to eligible passengers who have not yet enrolled to complete the registration and activation process at authorised centres as early as possible.
MSRTC has also planned to intensify its special activation campaign over the next few weeks to ensure that pending registrations are converted into active smart cards before the new requirement comes into effect.
The NCMC project forms a key part of MSRTC's efforts to strengthen its digital ticketing ecosystem and improve the delivery of passenger services.
The smart card is intended to simplify access to travel concessions while supporting the broader National Common Mobility Card initiative, which aims to enable seamless digital payments across multiple modes of public transport.
Officials said the corporation will continue expanding enrolment and activation efforts with the objective of ensuring that all eligible passengers are equipped with activated smart cards before the mandatory implementation date.