Maharashtra govt invites bids for fitment of high security number plates on vehicles registered before April 2019

Mumbai, Aug 30 (PTI) The Maharashtra Motor Vehicles Department on Wednesday invited bids for fitment of High-Security Registration Plates (HSRP) on all vehicles registered in the state before April 2019, officials said.

    To curb theft and bring uniformity in vehicle identity marks, the Centre made HSRP mandatory for every new vehicle registered in the county from April 1, 2019, putting the onus on manufacturers for installation of these number plates on new vehicles before handing them over to customers.
    Sandesh Chavan, deputy regional transport officer who is holding additional charge of joint transport commissioner (computers), said bids have been invited for “manufacturing, supply and fitment” of HSRP on vehicles registered in Maharashtra before April 2019 on a “build-own-operate” basis.
    These tamper-proof number plates were not mandatory for vehicles registered in Maharashtra before April 2019.
    Transport department officials said the state has nearly 4 crore vehicles and 1.25 crore vehicles are expected to be fitted with HSRP within a year once the successful bidder is awarded the work. Customers will have to bear the cost of HSRP, they said.
    Made of a rare aluminum alloy, HSRP contains a retro-reflective film with a verification inscription ‘India’, chromium-based Ashok Chakra hologram, hot-stamped letters ‘IND’ in blue, and a 10-digit laser-branding of a unique serial number, making it tamper-proof.
    These registration plates, protected against counterfeiting, are fixed at the front and rear end of the vehicles. A third registration mark refers to a chromium-based hologram sticker affixed on the inner side of the windshield, if the vehicle is a four-wheeler, with details of registration.
    HSRP is also popular among citizens as ‘IND’ or 'INDIA' number plates.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)