Bhubaneswar, July 18: Registration numbers of vehicles in the state are set to change from “OR” to “OD” eight months after the state changed its name from Orissa to Odisha.

The change will be effective from September 1.

The Centre has agreed to the state transport department’s proposal to change the registration code. A notification in this regard has been published in the Gazette of India.

The amendment has been made by the ministry of road transport and highways in exercise of the powers conferred by Sub-Section (6) of Section 41 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 (59 of 1988).

An official of the department said the state government would issue another notification in this regard. “It will take some time to strengthen the logistical infrastructure needed for change in registration code. The software, used in preparing smart cards for vehicle registration, needs to be modified. Once the software is ready, the vehicles will have OD instead of OR,” said transport department secretary K. Dhal.

However, the rule will not be applicable to the vehicles registered before September 1. Sources said that as of now more than 32 lakh of vehicles, including four-wheelers and six-wheelers, had been registered in the state.

“Keeping an eye on the problems the people might face in changing their old registration number, we have decided to left out the old vehicles,” said a senior official. He also said the proposal to change the code was needed, as the name of the state did not have an “R”.

In November last year, the state’s name was changed to Odisha from Orissa, and after that the transport officials pitched for a change in vehicle registration code. After getting consent from chief minister Naveen Patnaik, the proposal was sent to the ministry of road transport and highways for approval.

“This is a welcome step by the government. But, the government must ensure that the process of change of vehicle registration code is smooth, so that people do not have to suffer,” said Mukesh Parida, a resident of Bhubaneswar.