Mumbai, August 20, 2026: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has introduced reflective collars integrated with QR tags for stray dogs, enabling easy physical identification and digital tracking of vaccinated and sterilised community dogs by citizens and field personnel. The initiative is a part of the civic body’s plan to make Mumbai a rabies-free city by 2030.
Strengthening Stray Dog Management
The BMC, based on the recent directions of the Supreme Court, is working towards strengthening stray dog management, animal birth control and anti-rabies measures across Mumbai.
The collaboration was announced on Thursday in the presence of Deputy Municipal Commissioner Vinayak Vispute and Akshay Ridlan, Dr Akbar Pathan of the Veterinary Health Department and others.
QR-Enabled Collars For Dogs
The QR-code collar initiative is being undertaken in collaboration with Ridlan AI Foundation’s PawFriend.in, led by social entrepreneur Akshay Ridlan. Under the initiative, PawFriend.in will provide QR-enabled reflective collars carrying a unique QR code for community dogs.
The QR code will be linked to a digital record containing important information about the individual animal, including its rabies vaccination status, sterilisation status and relevant health details.
The initiative is said to help create a centralised and continuously updated digital registry of community dogs, thereby improving the efficiency, transparency and accountability of the Animal Birth Control (ABC) and anti-rabies vaccination programmes.
The identification system is also expected to help BMC and citizens distinguish between dogs that have already been vaccinated or sterilised and those requiring intervention, reducing duplication of efforts and enabling more efficient utilisation of public resources.
Replacing Temporary Markings
According to the civic body, vaccinated dogs were earlier identified through coloured ink or other temporary markings. However, such markings could fade or disappear within a short period, making long-term identification and monitoring difficult.
With the introduction of QR-enabled ‘Aadhaar-style’ collars, the identification of vaccinated and sterilised dogs can become significantly more durable, systematic and technology-driven.
The QR tags can provide access to the animal’s recorded information, subject to applicable data-access protocols, and facilitate better monitoring of vaccination, sterilisation and health interventions.
Digital Registry For Planning
The digital infrastructure is also expected to support evidence-based planning, avoidance of repeat interventions and expenditure, improved field-level monitoring and stronger coordination among BMC, animal welfare organisations, veterinary teams and other stakeholders.
Over time, the registry can provide an important data foundation for strengthening Mumbai’s long-term rabies elimination strategy and supporting scientifically informed public-health interventions.
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“We are committed to building innovative, technology-driven solutions that can create measurable impact in public health and animal welfare. Our vision is to create a reliable digital infrastructure that enables better vaccination tracking, sterilisation monitoring and evidence-based interventions for community dogs,” said Ridlan.
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