Delhi-NCR PUC tests to get tamper-proof technology under govt upgrade plan, nationwide rollout to follow

Vehicle emission test results at Pollution Under Control (PUC) centres in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) are set to become harder to manipulate under new government standards, TOI reported. The revised rules require emission readings to be digitally signed and transmitted directly to a central server. The upgraded testing system is being introduced to ensure that the pollution levels recorded during vehicle checks reflect actual measurements rather than values that can be altered by operators.

The new equipment will initially be deployed in Delhi-NCR, followed by a phased rollout across the wider NCR, cities covered under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) and eventually the rest of the country. Officials said trial runs have begun at a few PUC centres in Delhi.

The nationwide rollout is expected to take place over the next two years. Officials have clarified that the transition will not affect the validity of PUC certificates issued by other states or centres that have not yet installed or upgraded their equipment.

How will the new PUC testing system prevent tampering?

Under the amended Automotive Industry Standards (AIS) published by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, emission readings will have to be digitally signed within the testing instrument before being sent to the central Pollution Under Control Certificate (PUCC) server.

The equipment will use its own dedicated cellular connection to transmit the data. This is intended to prevent testing-centre operators or their computer systems from manually entering, changing or overriding the emission values recorded by the instrument.

The revised standards cover technical specifications and testing procedures for equipment used to measure petrol and diesel vehicle emissions, including gas analysers and smoke meters.

What role will the security chip play in emission tests?

A key requirement under the new standards is the installation of a Trusted Platform Module (TPM 2.0), a specialised hardware security chip, in each testing instrument.

The chip will generate and securely store a unique private key that cannot be extracted or copied. Each emission test result will be digitally signed using this key, allowing the central server to verify the authenticity of the reading and identify the instrument that generated it.

The signed data will be transmitted directly to the server through a SIM or eSIM installed in the equipment. The computer at the PUC centre will only be used to enter vehicle details, initiate the test and print the certificate. It will not have the ability to modify the measured emission values.

What happens if someone tries to interfere with the equipment?

The amended standards also prescribe safeguards against unauthorised access and interference. Attempts to open the equipment without authorisation, modify its software, manipulate it through external commands or remove its SIM without permission will trigger an alert.

The instrument will suspend further testing and digital signing until it has been verified. Another safeguard is that live emission readings will not be displayed during the test, reducing the possibility of operators influencing the outcome.

The standards also specify that a test must be aborted and a retest conducted if the measured oxygen concentration is 5% or higher.

The phased rollout is expected to strengthen the reliability of PUC testing by linking each recorded emission result to the instrument that conducted the test and preventing manual changes to the readings.