Getting a driving licence without paying an agent

The RTO is India's most reported bribe point after the police. The whole licence process is online now. Here is the official path, what it really costs, and how to refuse the "fee" that isn't one.

What actually costs money, and what doesn't

Learner's licence, driving test, and licence fees	Fixed amounts, published on the Parivahan portal and shown before you pay online. Everything official is paid online or against a printed receipt at the counter.
The agent's "package"	Not a fee. Agents charge several times the official amount and split the difference with whoever moves the file. Nothing about the process requires one.
"Test pass guarantee" money	A bribe by definition: the test is the thing it buys.

The official path

Apply online at parivahan.gov.in (Sarathi). Book the learner's test slot yourself; in many states the learner's test can now be taken from home with Aadhaar authentication.
Pay every fee on the portal and keep the receipts. There is no official cash payment without a printed receipt.
Take the driving test on the booked slot with your own or a school vehicle that meets the checklist on the portal.
Track the application number on the portal. The licence is couriered or downloadable as an e-licence in most states. Nobody needs to be "given something" for dispatch.

Your rights

Most states have a Right to Public Services Act that puts a legal time limit on licence services. Check your state's notified timeline; delay beyond it is appealable.
A test can only be failed for reasons on the assessment sheet; you are entitled to know why you failed.
Every official payment has a receipt. A demand without a receipt is not a fee.
You can file an RTI application asking for the status and file movement of your own application (rtionline.gov.in for central; your state's RTI portal otherwise).

If the demand comes anyway

Say: "I have paid the full fee online and I have the receipt. If anything more is payable, show me the head it falls under and give me a receipt. Otherwise please process my application. I will follow up through the portal and RTI if it stalls."

Calm beats angry: a demand needs deniability, and a citizen who asks for the fee head, the receipt, and the written defect memo takes the deniability away. Then record it here. Even the refusals, especially the refusals.

If refusing stalls your file

Grievance on the Parivahan/Sarathi portal against the application number.
Written complaint to the RTO officer in charge; then the State Transport Commissioner.
CPGRAMS (pgportal.gov.in), the national grievance system; state ACB or Lokayukta for a direct bribery complaint.
An RTI application about your file is often enough to un-stick it: movement becomes recorded.