What it means
An ANPR system works in three steps. It detects the plate in the frame, reads the characters with optical character recognition (OCR), and checks the result against a list or a database. A camera built for ANPR uses a short exposure to stop motion blur, infrared illumination for night work, and a lens chosen for the lane width and the distance to the vehicle.
Read rates depend on vehicle speed, camera angle, light, plate condition and how a vendor counts a correct read. Ask for results by condition (day, night, rain, speed band) rather than one headline number.
How it applies in India
Indian plates vary more than plates in most countries. A camera sees HSRP and older plates, single-line and double-line layouts, Bharat series plates, colour plates for commercial and electric vehicles, and hand-painted characters. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways lists ANPR among the electronic enforcement devices in Rule 167A of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, notified in August 2021. ANPR is also used at toll plazas, in MLFF tolling, and at society, campus and factory gates.