30 August,2023 05:37 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Representational Pic/File
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, reported the PTI.
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, according to the PTI.
According to the news agency, 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.
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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.
Meanwhile, increased demand for ethanol for blending with petrol and diesel will change the agriculture economy of India making farmers "urja daata", Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Tuesday while launching the world's first BS 6 (stage II) electrified flex fuel-based vehicle, which can run on ethanol blends of beyond 20 per cent, reported the PTI.
Compared to the higher contribution of the manufacturing and services sectors, the agriculture and allied industry's contribution to India's GDP is only 12 per cent while 65 per cent of the population is dependent on agriculture, the minister for road transport and highways said, as per the PTI.
(with PTI inputs)