FASTag Update: The use of FASTag has increased significantly across the country, resulting in fewer problems at toll plazas. The toll tax is deducted from the FASTag installed on the vehicle at the toll plaza, which has proved to be a commendable step by the Government of India. However, do you know that the government is now planning to increase its use of parking and charging of vehicles, apart from national and state highways?

Not only this, work is underway to use FASTag for insurance payments as well. The government’s intention is clear: it wants to work with transparency by increasing convenience for the people. People will be able to take advantage of this on a large scale. This is expected to result in a significant increase in the number of FASTag users.

Big step taken

Indian Highway Management Company, which operates under the NHAI, has also conducted a workshop with all the fintech companies in the country. The purpose of this workshop is to generate new ideas for FASTag, a technology that can be easily explained to the general public.

The ministry stated that the purpose of the workshop was to gather the opinions of fintech companies. In particular, an attempt was made to understand where FASTag can be used beyond toll plazas. Additionally, how can we ensure compliance with the rules? Apart from this, the discussion included how to settle complaints and provide security.

Discussion on this topic

According to a report, another critical issue discussed in detail at the workshop was the multi-lane free-flow tolling system. This is a technology that eliminates the need for toll plazas. The vehicle will move ahead without stopping at the toll plaza. The toll will be deducted directly from the vehicle’s number plate. The aim of the ministry is for fintech companies to also actively participate in the development of this new technology, ensuring a smooth process.

At how many toll plazas is Fastag running?

For your information, the National Electronic Toll Collection Fastag is operational at 1728 toll plazas across the country. This includes 1113 national highways and 615 state-level routes. 98.5 per cent of the total toll is paid through FASTag. So far, 38 banks across the country have issued more than 11 crore 4 lakh FASTag.