Electronic toll collection on national highways in fast lane

According to estimates provided by a payments processor, a little more than 1.5 million tags have been issued already - 800,000 in the past four months

The launch of automatic toll collection tags is a matter of cheer for those travelling on national highways, with the substantial cut in waiting time at toll plazas.

Launched in 2016, the government’s project to automate all toll collection through radio frequency tags — termed FASTags — is shifting gear. The government has made it mandatory for every new four-wheeler vehicle to have a tag from this December.

The project, anchored by National Highways Authority of India, in partnership with National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), is gaining momentum. Big banks such as ICICI and non-bank entities like Paytm payments