SECURITY IMPRINT Hot-stamped chromium-based hologram: Prevents counterfeiting Ingressed IND legend: For national identity and standardisation Laser etched 9 digit code: Sequential identification of licence plates. Acts as watermark and cannot be erased Security inscript: On the alpha numerals and border, prevents painting/ screen printing, protects against counterfeiting Embossed alpha-numeral & border: For enhanced readability and, therefore, easy identification Superior grade reflective sheeting: Visible from a minimum of 200 metres. The enhanced visibility prevents accidents during night/low visibility Snap lock: Fitted on the rear licence plate. Self-destructive in nature thereby tamper-proof. Provides immediate and distinguishable identification POINTS OF CONTENTION The new number plates have unique features to prevent auto thefts. BUT: Costs approximately Rs 1,200 a set which could tax the car owner. Danger of monopoly if a 15-year contract is granted to a single manufacturer. Laser branding would guard against duplication of registration plates. BUT: New plates to be fitted only at regional transport authority offices, which means long queues. Government feels the new scheme is a must for India to avoid auto thefts. BUT: Smart cards with information on vehicle's registration and driver's personal details are a cheaper option.

For a country whose population has crossed the one billion mark, India's vehicular density is ridiculously low. There are a little less than 60 million vehicles in the country and that includes almost every wheeled contraption with an internal combustion engine. But there's one area where India's statistics are exceedingly high, and it is not enviable: the number of vehicular thefts. Each year, more than one lakh vehicles, mostly cars, are stolen. Apart from leaving owners stranded and forcing insurance companies to settle crores of rupees in claims, the thefts have begun to pose a security threat. A large share of the stolen vehicles lands in the hands of militants.

Come February 28, 2003, all this may well be a thing of the past. A new Central regulation makes it mandatory for all new vehicles to be fitted with high security vehicle registration plates (HSVRPs). These plates will have unique features like a chromium-based hologram and a laser code. In addition there will be a tamper-proof third number plate that will be affixed on the windshield (see graph). Owners of old vehicles have to switch over to the new plates within two years. At Rs 1,000-1,200 per set of plates, it is up to 10 times costlier than those currently in use. HSVRPs cannot be obtained from the neighbourhood billboard painter. They will be issued only at the offices of the regional transport authority (RTA) across the country.

Considering that about four million two-wheelers, one lakh cars and 1.5 lakh trucks and buses roll off the assembly lines every year, there is a fortune to be made. The existing vehicles could alone fetch Rs 7,000 crore for HSVRP manufacturers. And the nearly five million vehicles that hit the country's roads every year will rake in additional business worth Rs 600 crore annually. Little wonder then that the scheme is mired in controversies (see box).

When the scheme was first announced in March 2001, only one manufacturer-Erich Utsch of Germany-was able to meet the Government's specifications for the new plates as that company alone had the knowhow for producing the tamper-proof sticker. The company isn't coy about it either. "We can't help it. The specifications are there in the gazette notification. We didn't put it there. Now everyone will have to comply with it," says Tapesh Bagati, director (operations) of Shimnit Utsch, a joint venture between Shimnit of Mumbai and Utsch of Germany. At present, only Kurz of Germany and API Foils Ltd of England can produce chromium-based holograms and hot-stamping foils with inscriptions. Of the two, Kurz has an exclusive supply contract with Utsch. This has caused apprehensions that the new regulation will lead to a monopoly of Utsch and its subsidiaries in India.

The high stakes have predictably unleashed a cut-throat competition among prospective manufacturers. Among them is Utsav Security Systems (USS). In a letter to Surface Transport Secretary Ashoke Joshi, Ravi Somani, MD of USS, has alleged that his main rival, Nitin G. Shah, MD, Shimnit Utsch, is a history sheeter and, therefore, should be debarred from entering the HSVRP business. Counters Bagati: "When the German firm had no problems in tying up with Shah, why should anyone else object?"

Even the Parivahan Bhavan, the headquarters of the Transport Ministry, has not been able to turn a blind eye to the mudslinging. Union Surface Transport and Highways Minister Major-General (retd) B.C. Khanduri has asked Central Vigilance Commissioner N. Vittal to conduct an inquiry. "This is a corporate war and we don't want to get involved in it. But we are trying to make the entire process transparent," says Khanduri.

SAFE LABEL: The windscreen sticker self-destructs if tampered with

"It is a corporate war and we don't want to get involved in it." B.C. Khanduri, Surface Transport and Highways Minister

Controversies have plagued the scheme since its inception forcing the Government to issue as many as four notifications to rectify its mistakes, some of them absurd. It has had to postpone deadlines twice. It initially planned to have the Ashoka emblem printed on the hologram, not realising it is used only for vehicles used by the President and the state governors.

Manufacturers also allege that the Delhi-based Central Road Research Institute (CRRI) has not been fair in its dealings. It took more than three months to certify the plate drawings submitted by USS, while those of its rival were cleared in less than a fortnight. CRRI's directive on submission of finished number plates was even worse. The manufacturers were to submit them within 30 days, failing which the approval of their drawings would be withdrawn. But it would take at least two months to develop a HSVRP since the machines are still at the Mumbai dockyard awaiting customs clearance, claim manufacturers.

The Government ran into rough weather even with the floating of tenders. The conditions stipulated that only companies which have manufactured HSVRPs in at least five countries and have an annual turnover of Rs 50 crore were eligible to apply. This effectively ruled out Indian companies, forcing USS to seek the court's intervention. USS also pointed out that granting a contract for 15 years amounted to overlooking technical advances that may be made during this period. A few state governments have already withdrawn the tenders after the USS approached the court. Alok Rawat, joint secretary, road transport, feels issuing open tenders is the most effective method of implementing the scheme. "It's a level-playing field and we want to ensure availability of HSVRP at the lowest cost," he says.

The new plates may check vehicle theft, but it is likely to tax the car owner. In case of an accident, there won't be the neighbourhood garage providing cheap replacement plates. The owner will have to go to the transport office. And anyone who has stood in a queue at the RTA knows that it is not a picnic.