What is FASTag technology and how has it made life easier on highways?

In February this year, the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways made FASTag mandatory for all vehicles. The government directed that all the lanes in toll plazas at national highways be declared FASTag lanes. It also said that vehicles without FASTag would have to pay double the toll. The move was aimed to reduce congestion at the toll plazas.
 
The cost of buying FASTag will vary, depending on the type of vehicle and the channel where you are buying the FASTag from. For instance, on Paytm, you can buy FASTag for your car for Rs 500, out of which Rs 250 will be your refundable security deposit and Rs 150 will be your wallet balance. You can recharge your FASTag digital wallet using internet banking, credit or debit cards and UPI. A FASTag is valid for five years from the date of purchase and the recharge amount does not have any extended validity period associated with it.
 
Paytm is now planning to launch FASTag-based parking services across the country, after it launched the first such facility with the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation in September 2021. In June, Paytm Payments Bank became the first bank in the country to achieve the milestone of issuing 1 crore FASTags.

According to NPCI, over 3.47 crore FASTags were issued by all banks together till the end of June 2021.