Team-BHP - High security registration plates (HSRP) in India

Disclaimer: this is all based on government's own documentation. No editorialisation.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sushantr5 (Post 5933152)

someone can easily fit a fake embossed HSRP lookalike...

First of all, I suppose someone can "easily create a fake" 500-rupee note with a home printer and 75gsm paper. But it would be detected easily by even the dumbest of shopkeepers. Same way, "easily faking" an HSRP that passes scrutiny doesn't seem to be possible. The specification goes into a fair amount of detail, including material to use, font/embossing sizes (with tolerances) and colours, the standards to follow, processes to use and tests the plates have to pass.

The chromium hologram and the laser-etched serial number are features that are specifically designed to be not easily duplicated or faked.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sushantr5 (Post 5933152)

I had assumed that number plates would be manufactured exclusively by authorized vendors...

This is correct. The list of empanelled vendors is here: https://morth.gov.in/high-security-registration-plates

Each state is expected to follow its own tendering process to pick their vendors from this list. Kerala tried to bypass this but got its fingers burnt at the high court.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sushantr5 (Post 5933152)

it seems these features only matter when a vehicle is stopped and inspected.

This is not true. HSRPs are designed to be readable by ANPR systems; in fact the specification goes to great lengths to make sure that can happen in all sorts of ambient light conditions. While ANPR cameras aren't all that common in India just yet, I believe some states and roads/locations have started deploying them. The expectation is that eventually all traffic enforcement cameras and cameras at places like malls, office blocks, toll booths etc. will get ANPR capability.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sushantr5 (Post 5933152)

What are your thoughts on how effective HSRP truly is?

Right now, all vehicles registered after 1/4/2019 have HSRP (and older vehicles, based on compliance levels). By the end of this decade we can expect coverage to be > 80% nationwide. At that time non-HSRP plates will stand out and arouse suspicion/additional checks. Full realisation of the potential of HSRP (both positive and negative aspects - massive deployment of ANPR cameras has privacy implications too) will be achieved then.

I got HSRP fitted in both my scooters (Activa 2016 year make & Dio 2015 year make)
Tigor is a 2020 model so came with HSRP by default.

Selected MH12 as the RTO from

https://transport.maharashtra.gov.in...eRedirect.html

and was redirected to Rosmerta Safety Systems Limited website.

Filling in the form was pretty simple. No mismatch with details in the RTO and I was quickly asked to choose a slot.
I booked on 1st Feb and the earliest slot was after 10th Feb
I choose 15th Feb as it was a Saturday.

While selecting the fitment center, there were 3-4 near to me (Wagholi) and I chose Isuzu dealership (Bavaria Motors, Wagholi) as it was the closest.

I never received any messages regarding the status of my shipment of the plates.
I called Bavaria Motors on Thursday 13 Feb.
The number is mentioned in the confirmation slip.
They quickly cheched and confirmed the plates have been received for both my vehicles.

On Saturday around 12 noon, I visited the showroom.
There was just one car that was having their number plate fitted.

I shared my confirmation slip and they asked for the RC book.
Provided for both vehicles.
They got the plates, removed the old ones and fitted the new ones instantly.

Hardly took 10 minutes.
They handed over the old plates to me and asked me to destroy it.
Took it back home and will plan to discard it soon.
The staff at Bavaria were wery friendly and took no extra money.

The only drawback was that they did not have the rivet to fit the plates on by scooter. The only ones they had were for cars which were not fitting.
They ended up drilling holes in the plates and fixing it with the screws that were there on the older plates.
I plan to see if I can fit it with the rivets with some other scooter dealerships.

Overall, it was a very smooth process.

I guess now there is huge rush as whenever I pass by dealerships who do the fitment, I see loads of cars and bikes anytime during the week.
I bet weekends would have more rush.

Quote:

Originally Posted by purav_prv (Post 5936460)

Overall, it was a very smooth process.
I guess now there is huge rush as whenever I pass by dealerships who do the fitment, I see loads of cars and bikes anytime during the week.
I bet weekends would have more rush.

Good to hear that the process was smooth for you.
I had selected Rushabh TVS (Opposite Agakhan Palace) while booking my appointment for 4th March, as that was the only centre being shown nearby Kalyani Nagar / 411006 pin-code.

Seems that this centre is extremely overloaded with work, and on top of that the RTO sent the number plates very late to them (around 9.30AM since 3 days), which caused additional delay.

My slot was 10AM, and they were only writing down names without paying any heed to the slot timings.

My number was 50 in the list, and they said that since 2 wheeler plates have been received very late, please come back after 4 pm. :Frustrati
Even for people with 4-wheelers, they were waiting in a long queue (since 4 wheeler plates were sorted apparently)

Now, when I went back at 4, as expected there was un-ending chaos and flared tempers all around.
The man at the counter was trying his best to handle people, but he could not as they are severely understaffed.

After waiting in queue for 2 hours with people ranging from the age of 20-85, with no water, extreme Pune heat and hardly any ventilation from the 3 fans above, finally I received my plates at 6.15PM.

After that, when I stepped outside near the fitting area it was another comedy of errors.
They were making do with just 1 rivet machine, 1 drilling machine, 2-3 spanners and the fitters were disappearing with the equipment from time to time. The queue was almost 20 rickshaws, 30 cars, and 30 bikes like myself.

Eventually I unscrewed and removed my older plates myself, and after a lot of convincing I was able to catch hold of one helper who did the drilling for the newer front plates as per the new bracket (additional Rs. 70/-), and used the existing holes for the rear-plates.

The fitting guys were already talking amongst themselves about stopping work at 7 PM, and demanding Rs. 50/- per plate from the dealership, seemingly because everyone is thankless and under-staffed.

The guy who had to photograph the old / new plates combination was also running from pillar to post, somehow we were able to catch hold of him.

I was finally done with this ordeal at 7.30 PM, and wished I would have opted for the home-delivery and fitting of plates instead.

I hear that its been 2 years in Karnataka and still the HSRP implementation is not complete.
What made the MH govt think that they will achieve this in 3-4months? :coldsweat

As is known the HSRP's have become mandatory for all pre 2019 motor vehicles in Maharashtra and have to be affixed by 30.04.25. Announced in January 2025, the first deadline was 31.03.25, now extended by a month. The costs of these plates for all categories are among the highest in India. There were many voices speaking up including the media but noone was listening. Now the Transport Unions in Pune have raised their voice and had called for staging a protest in front of the RTO office today 06.03.25. They propose to continue their agitation if the State Government is apathetic.

https://www.punekarnews.in/hsrp-tran...lates-in-pune/

Quote:

Originally Posted by supernova105 (Post 5936716)

They were overloaded even in January when I took my car to Rushabh TVS on the 23rd. Had to wait for an hour during which time I went and had my car pressure washed buy a wash centre just about 1-2 km down the road.

However, even after 60 minutes of elapsed time there was chaos with the tools not being made available and as you said they had a single set that was shared between workers.

Quote:

I hear that its been 2 years in Karnataka and still the HSRP implementation is not complete. What made the MH govt think that they will achieve this in 3-4months?

IIRC the HSRP fitting deadline was extended from 31 Dec to 31 March and now to 30 April. Seeing the response in my housing colony a large majority dont seem to be bothered. And then you have the strikes by rickshaw unions over the price of HSRPs in MH. This is a mess.

PS - Thought I'd share this too. 55 new centres

PPS -

Quote:

Originally Posted by mechtron (Post 5937249)

I think fixing the HSRP Number Plates with Nut Bolts instead of Rivetting is illegal and may attract penal actions by RTO, Can anyone advise?

Yes technically they are illegal and not considered valid plates. But then as the fitter explained there are some older vehicles that cannot take a rivet due to the size of the plate fixing holes made at the factory. The rivet will fit 7-8mm holes while my car has 10mm bolts and the rivets do not hold and just slip off. The only saving grace is the security sticker that has the car registration + serial #s of the plates on it which should match what is fitted to the car. I guess that should suffice.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Majumdarda (Post 5938361)

Do I have to submit the existing number plates? I have seen that the quality of the HSRP plates are too bad and they get bend with the slightest push. Every two wheeler has a bent HSRP after few days.

I want to request to the fitment team to have this fixed on the existing plates for strength and support. Has anyone tried this and achieved success?

The link here says that I have to surrender the existing plates :( Please respond.

You can use frames to give some protection. But make sure rivets are used on plates and not on the frame.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aviator_guy (Post 5938365)

You can use frames to give some protection. But make sure rivets are still used on plates and not on the frame.

Thank you, but the frames, to me, serves more cosmetic than anything else. Moreover I do not like those anyways as it still does not serve the purpose of a solid support to the number plate in entirety.

These plates can be easily punctured with a screw driver and in a bumper to bumper traffic, the plates are the first point of contacts usually. A solid supporting base is very much required.

Is there a site from where I can procure these plates (home delivered) and then I can have it fixed manually. I had heard about the same, unfortunately unable to locate.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Majumdarda (Post 5938361)

In the process in Karnataka, we didnt have to submit the existing plates. For the number plates bending issue, I would recommend to use a frame. The bending issue is controlled quite a bit with a good set of frames. However, you can also mount the HSRP over the existing plates if that helps.

I finally got the HSRP for my 2012 Honda Activa today, and it went surprisingly well! I chose the home fitment option, and the technicians were super quick—they had the plates installed in under five minutes. They called five minutes before arriving. They used proper tools for riveting: the front plate was riveted directly onto the body, while the rear one was riveted onto the mounting point. After installing the plates, they took pictures and asked for an OTP to confirm. The only thing that seemed a bit odd was that they didn't take the old plates with them; they suggested I either destroy them or keep them at home

I didn't expect the process to be this smooth, especially since my mobile number wasn't updated in the RC. I couldn't update it through Aadhaar OTP on the MHSRP/Rosmerta portal because of a name mismatch (the RC has a middle name initial, while the Aadhaar doesn't). Even though I got a couple of texts from Rosmerta saying that updating the mobile number on VAHAN is mandatory for MHSRP fixation, the plates were installed without any issues, and I received a confirmation message from Rosmerta post the fitment. So, I guess everything is fine for now. I'll update the mobile number by visiting the RTO when I get a chance

Got the HSRPs fixed on my Baleno today. Had booked the appointment on 24th Feb for fixing at Sah & Sanghi Worli on 8th March 10:30 am. I kept tracking from 6th March to check whether they received the plates from FTA. Though the hsrp site showed status as despatched to dealer on 6th, Sah & Sanghi received the plates on 8th March night which Sah & Sanghi informed on phone to which I informed them that I would come today first thing in the morning. Reached there around 9:15 and was on my way back home in 10 minutes. I had unused new frames which they used and they used the frames and had the hsrps riveted in less than 10 minutes. Except for the delay in the plates reaching the dealer, the whole process was smooth. A big thumbs up to Sah & Sanghi for being very proactive in calling up informing the plates had reached.