Number Plates Go Hi-tech
All new vehicles bought in Delhi and a number of specified states from May 1 onwards will have high security registration plates (HSRP). The remaining states will also follow suit shortly. After June 15, all old vehicles in the capital too will have to replace their existing number plates with HSRPs. What these new number plates are all about:
Features: Apart from the car's registration number being embossed on them, each such number plate will have a seven-digit unique laser code, a chromium-based hologram, a self-destructing sticker with the vehicle's engine number and chassis number on it, the letters 'IND' inscribed on it, and above all, a non-removable snap lock.
Advantages: Recovery of stolen cars will be much easier. These features will make tampering with the plate, or installing a counterfeit plate, impossible. The number plates will also enable maintaining a nationwide database of vehicles.
How it came about: In June 2005, the government amended the Central Motor Vehicle Rules directing that HSRPs be installed on all cars. But nothing changed until the Supreme Court, in May 2008, insisted the changed rule be enforced. Last December, it also dismissed a host of petitions from different states opposing the introduction of HSRPs.
Horror Scenario?
No one likes to pay taxes, least of all the super rich. But ace horror fiction writer Stephen King is an exception. He has been getting more horrified reactions than his books ever did since he suggested that the really rich - among whom he counts himself - should pay at least twice the taxes they are currently paying.
Telling Stories
A survey in Britain had 71 per cent of respondents admitting they had claimed to have read books they actually had not, in order to avoid appearing dumb. Men were found to be bigger fibbers than women. The top five books people lied about having read were: Pride and Prejudice, The Lord of the Rings, Jane Eyre, Tess of the d'Urbervilles and The Hobbit.
Lacking Steel
Steel manufacturers signed 301 MoUs with various states in the last six years, but hardly any of the projects have begun, Steel Minister Beni Prasad Verma recently told Parliament. In Orissa and Chhattisgarh alone, projects worth Rs 1.74 trillion are stalled due to land acquisition problems and environmental issues.
