All four-wheelers sold in India from 1 December will be fitted with FASTag, a device that enables automatic deduction of toll charges without motorists having to stop at toll plazas to make the payment. The road ministry’s decision is in line with the government’s push for digitization and cashless payments, especially after last November’s invalidation of high-value banknotes triggered an unprecedented cash crunch. The move will also help reduce congestion at toll plazas, and petrol consumption by idling vehicles, and speed up traffic. Introduced in April 2016, FASTag enables near non-stop movement of vehicles through toll plazas and the convenience of cashless payments of toll fees. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) launched a FASTag lane in all 370 toll plazas under its ambit on 1 October. FASTag is radio-frequency identification (RFID)-enabled sticker issued by the NHAI and can be bought through banks, authorized dealers and Common Services Centres near toll plazas. It employs RFID technology for making toll payments directly from a pre-paid account linked to it. The minimum recharge amount is Rs.100 and maximum Rs.1 lakh. FASTag users get SMS alerts for all their toll transactions. For more than a year, NHAI has been trying to speed up the adoption of FASTags. In August it launched two mobile applications—MyFASTag and FASTag Partner—for electronic toll collection and recharge of FASTags through mobile phones.

(Live Mint)