NHAI rolls out ‘One Vehicle, One FASTag’ initiative

• To enhance efficiency of the electronic toll collection system and provide seamless movement at  toll plazas, NHAI said that FASTag users must also comply with ‘One Vehicle, One FASTag’.

• The initiative aims to discourage user behavior of using a single FASTag for multiple vehicles or linking multiple FASTags to a particular vehicle. 

• The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has taken this initiative after recent reports of multiple FASTags being issued for a particular vehicle.

• Apart from this, FASTags are sometimes deliberately not fixed on the windscreen of the vehicle, resulting in unnecessary delays at toll plazas and causing inconvenience to fellow national highway users.

• The initiative will help make toll operations more efficient and ensure seamless and comfortable journeys. 

• NHAI is also encouraging FASTag users to complete the ‘Know Your Customer’ (KYC) process of their latest FASTag by updating KYC as per RBI guidelines. FASTags with valid balances but with incomplete KYC will get deactivated by banks after January 31, 2024.

What is FASTag?

• FASTag is a prepaid tag affixed on a vehicle’s windscreen, which enables automatic deduction of toll charges and lets the vehicle pass through the toll plaza without stopping for the cash transaction. 

• In order to save fuel, time and pollution and to ensure seamless movement of traffic, the government launched the National Electronic Toll Collection programme.

• FASTag employs Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology for making toll payments directly from the prepaid account linked to it. 

• FASTag has a validity of five years and after purchasing it, the driver needs to recharge/topup the FASTag as per the requirement.

• The National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI) is the Central Clearing House (CCH). There are 38 banks (including Public and Private sector banks) engaged as issuer banks for FASTag issuance to road users and 14 acquirer banks to process the transactions at fee plazas.

• With a penetration rate of around 98 per cent and over 8 crore users, FASTag has revolutionised the electronic toll collection system in the country.

Manorama Yearbook app is now available on Google Play Store and iOS App Store