(MENAFN- Live Mint) The Maharashtra Cabinet announced on Tuesday that starting from April 1, 2025, all vehicles in the state will be mandated to have a FASTag sticker. This mandate comes as a move for the country's growing electronic toll collection system.
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A FASTag is a sticker tag governed by the National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI ) and the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), which is fitted on vehicles to eliminate human intervention in the road toll collection system.
The FASTag technology uses Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tech to complete scanning the tag from a distance to deduct the road toll directly from people's bank accounts or digital wallets.
The FASTag system is currently operated by 23 banks in India.
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The FASTag sticker or tag is fixed to a vehicle's windscreen and linked to a prepaid account. Toll payments are collected through RFID as vehicles pass through the toll gates.
In theory, you don't have to stop at a toll booth if you have a FASTag attached to your car, but in reality, due to the high level of traffic and people's tendency to not give tolls in India, some regions you have to halt for a brief moment to get the FASTag scanner and then pass the toll.
The government has instructed the NHAI to convert all toll lanes across the nation's national highway network into FASTag lanes, according to HDFC Bank.
Also Read | No FASTag on windshield? Prepare to pay double the toll on national highways.
Once a user's FASTag account is active, the appropriate toll amount will be automatically deducted from the bank account or digital wallet whenever the vehicle passes through an FASTag-enabled toll plaza.
With this technology, it is easier for travellers and commuters using a vehicle to keep track of their toll expenses, as they will receive an SMS or an email alert every time they pay a toll on their registered mobile numbers and email addresses.
This digitization also is a move to reduce the paperwork and save fuel of the vehicles standing in lines.
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