We have had an e-mail from Goa today and we were told that the police are really going to clamp down on scooter hiring in the coming season. We always hire our bike from the same guy and he told us the police have said everyone hiring out bikes must have a licence. I know they have been saying this for a while now but he said that they really mean it this year and he has had to apply for a licence. When he got to the office they asked to see details of his bikes and told him they were only giving the licence to new bikes so he has bought a new one for us and is only charging us our usual hire charge (which is only 75rps day).
He also said that we must not forget to get an International Driving Licence as they told him his hirers must show this to him when they take the bike.
Whether this will be upheld we can only guess but it is better to err on the safe side and get one instead of using one that is 4 years old and hope they don't look at the date (which we have got away with a couple of times now).
If it is only new bikes they are licencing you can be sure the police will be stopping foreigners on older ones looking to make a few bob.