You’ve been riding or driving around and noticing that the regular PUC centres now have an ‘online PUC’ board near them. What’s the difference?
At various times I’ve asked for a calibration certificate (and gotten a puzzled look in return), asked why the chap wants my engine to be running when his machine is off (and got a puzzled look in return), and asked for a PUC certificate without the vehicle actually being there (and got instant compliance in return). However, the online PUC system makes things easier – provided the WiFi is working.
What an online PUC does is use the power of the internet to prove that the vehicle in question was present for the test, and that the machine was on. It says nothing about calibration of the machine. It then uploads the information to the Vahan website. This then means that it will show up in the government-approved apps like m-Parivahan and thus you do not need a physical document to prove that your vehicle is compliant with the regulations. A word of caution, however: the app requires data connectivity to show the details, so the physical document remains important if you’re going on a long trip through rural India.
There is also a way to update the other information about your vehicle like the insurance data, so that you can display the registration, insurance and PUC validity all at a single go on your phone. However, that is a post for another day.