look news india
Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) and the Ministry of Road Transport are working on an unprecedented technological strategy to tackle the serious problem of nearly 50% of the crores of vehicles plying on the country’s roads not having valid third party or comprehensive motor insurance. Under this new scheme, a special pilot project has been prepared for real-time checking of vehicle insurance through Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras at petrol pumps.
Under this system, there is a preparation to implement the strict policy of ‘No Insurance, No Fuel’ (no insurance, no petrol) in a phased manner. That is, if your vehicle’s insurance has lapsed and you reach the pump to fill petrol or diesel, your vehicle will be immediately identified by the automatic system.
If a driver approaches the nozzle of a petrol pump without active insurance, he will have to face a double blow on the spot:
-
Refusal to give petrol and diesel: As soon as the vehicle reaches near the fuel dispensing station (petrol pump nozzle), the high-speed ANPR camera installed there will scan the number plate of the vehicle. If the insurance is found ‘invalid’ or ‘lapsed’ on the vehicle portal, the dispensing machine may get locked or the pump attendant will receive an alert, refusing to dispense fuel to the vehicle.
-
Instant e-invoice of ₹2,000 to ₹4,000: As soon as the number plate is scanned, the system will immediately generate and send an e-challan under Section 196 of the Motor Vehicles Act to the mobile number entered in the database. There is a fine of ₹2,000 for the first time and a fine of ₹4,000 and imprisonment of up to 3 months for repeated violations.
This entire system will be completely automated and based on cloud-based network:
-
ANPR Camera Scanning on Entry: High-definition AI-enabled ANPR cameras will be installed at the petrol pump entrance and fuel nozzle bay.
-
Matching to central database ‘Vehicle’: The camera will match the data with the ‘VAHAN’ portal and the centralized server of the Insurance Information Bureau of India (IIB) within just 1 to 2 seconds of reading the vehicle number plate.
-
Signals/Alerts on Screen: If the insurance is valid, a green signal will appear on the screen and refueling will be permitted. If the insurance is expired, a warning will appear on the pump screen with a red signal and auto-invoice will be triggered.
In India, it is legally mandatory for any vehicle to have at least ‘third-party insurance’ under the Motor Vehicles Act. Despite this, according to General Insurance Council data:
-
Of the total vehicles registered in the country, approximately More than 50% vehicles without any valid insurance Running on the roads, the number of two-wheelers is the highest.
-
While buying a new car, people take bundled insurance for 3 or 5 years, but after its expiry, crores of people do not renew the policy.
-
In case of road accidents, when it comes to giving compensation (Third Party Claims) to the victim or his family, due to lack of insurance, the victims have to go to the courts and are not able to get proper financial security.
According to sources, this ambitious project will initially be tested on a pilot basis at petrol pumps owned by select major oil companies (IOCL, BPCL, HPCL) located in metro cities and on National Highways (NH).
Instead of issuing challans in the initial months, vehicle owners will be given the facility of warning message to renew the insurance at the pump and QR code to buy the digital policy on the spot. After successful testing of the pilot project and removal of technical flaws, it is being planned to make it mandatory on the petrol pump network of the entire country.
Therefore, to avoid the embarrassment of sudden heavy fines and non-availability of fuel at the petrol pump, drivers are advised to check the validity of their vehicle insurance today and get it renewed in time.