Everyone used to get annoyed by the long queues at toll plazas and paying toll fees repeatedly while driving. To end this hassle, the central government launched the Fastag annual pass for private non-commercial vehicles from August 15, 2025. By paying ₹ 3,000, vehicle owners can use it for a year or 200 toll transactions, whichever is earlier. The facility was implemented at 1,150 toll plazas across the country, and more than 5 lakh people bought it in the first four days itself. This facility is a big relief for the common people, but according to a report, it can become a big challenge for the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).
Relief to the general public, burden on NHAI
Rating agency ICRA believes that this pass can put an additional burden of up to ₹ 4,500 crore on NHAI every year. NHAI had said that the government would compensate the losses of toll operators, for which a uniform compensation system has been implemented. However, ICRA says that if the government compensates every toll operator for their losses, it could become a huge financial burden of ₹4,200 to ₹4,500 crore for NHAI.
Key points of the ICRA report
According to the ICRA report, about 35-40% of toll revenue comes from passenger cars. This annual pass will mainly benefit those who frequently travel on the highway. The report also states that people who travel less intercity or are taxi drivers will not benefit much from this. According to the report, this pass will affect only six to seven percent of the total toll collection.
In FY 2025, the total toll income of NHAI was ₹72,931 crore. It is estimated that this income may decrease in 2026, which will directly harm NHAI.
What is the way forward
At present, compensation has been arranged for three months for the toll operators. Later, new contractors will have to bid as per the data of the annual pass. It is clear that the Fastag annual pass has made travel easy and convenient for commuters, but reports suggest that it may bring a loss of thousands of crores of rupees every year for NHAI. It will be a big challenge for the government to maintain the financial stability of NHAI, along with providing relief to the common people.