After a slow start in October 2021, as many as 7,042 personal vehicles, including two and four-wheelers, that had registered with the Pune Regional Transport Office (RTO) in 2023 had the Bharat (BH) number plate series, shows data shared by the officials.

The uptrend in BH number plate or Bharat series registration shows growth of around 87 percent compared to 2022. The surge includes 79 percent growth in four wheelers and 110 percent growth in registration of two-wheelers.

This increase of non-transport vehicles with BH series registration in Pune almost doubled, compared to the previous year. A total of 3,758 BH numbers were registered in Pune in 2022, which was 131 in 2021.

Deputy Regional Transport Officer Sanjiv Bhor explained the BH series was introduced to avoid the hassle of transferring vehicle registration after moving from one state to another. Employees from the central government such as defence, bank, administration and those employed in private companies, which have offices in four or more states or Union territories, are eligible for the BH series number.

“There is no tax exemption for such employees. They have to pay tax based on a formula chalked out by the central government. The tax should be paid after every two years up to 16 years. The issue of repaying tax and re-registration every time an employee moves to a new location is solved through the BH number series,” he said.

According to Bhor, Pune has observed a surge in BH registrations, specifically due to the substantial presence of employees from private companies, particularly those in the IT and multi-national sectors.