21 hrs ago
FASTag Boosts Toll Revenue as Barrier-Free Tolling Targets 2027
FASTag lets vehicles pay highway tolls electronically instead of using cash.
Nitin Gadkari said this has already helped the government collect about ₹7,000 crore more.
More than 98% of vehicles at national highway toll plazas now use FASTag.
The government wants toll booths to work without barriers by March 2027.
Cameras and number-plate recognition would help identify vehicles automatically.
This could make traffic move faster and reduce waiting times.
The government expects to collect another ₹7,000–8,000 crore each year through the new system.
It also expects technology to make toll collection cheaper to operate.
Nitin Gadkari said FASTag has increased government toll revenue by about ₹7,000 crore.
FASTag penetration has exceeded 98% at national highway toll plazas, with more than 13 crore tags issued.
The government aims to make all national highway toll booths barrier-free by March 2027.
The proposed system will combine FASTag with automatic number plate recognition under Multi-Lane Free Flow technology.
Gadkari said barrier-free tolling could increase collections by 10% and reduce toll-operating costs from 12–15% to 2–4%.
- Who
- Union minister Nitin Gadkari and the Government of India.
- What
- FASTag has increased toll revenue, and the government plans to introduce barrier-free tolling using Multi-Lane Free Flow systems.
- Where
- National highway toll plazas in India.
- When
- Barrier-free tolling is targeted for March 2027; FASTag was made mandatory in 2021.
- Why
- To reduce revenue leakage, improve compliance, lower operating costs, increase toll collections and cut vehicle waiting times.
Key facts
- Reported FASTag revenue increase
- About ₹7,000 crore
- FASTag penetration
- Above 98% at national highway toll plazas
- FASTags issued
- More than 13 crore
- Barrier-free tolling target
- March 2027
- Projected additional collections
- ₹7,000–8,000 crore annually, or about 10% higher collections
- Current toll-operation cost
- Around 12–15%
- Potential technology-driven cost
- Around 2–4%, producing an estimated ₹6,000–7,000 crore benefit
Quotes
Nitin Gadkari
India’s Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways
“When the system will go fully live, then our department alone would deliver a benefit of ₹20,000–25,000 crore per year to the Government of India because of the use of FASTags.”
businesstoday.in
Sources
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