India's Electronic Toll Collection System to Replace Traditional Tolls Nationwide Within a Year

National Electronic Toll Collection (NETC) program has been developed to facilitate electronic toll payments nationwide.

New Delhi:

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari announced on Thursday that the traditional toll collection system will be phased out within a year, replaced by an electronic system designed to create a seamless experience for highway users.

The minister revealed that the new electronic toll collection system has already been implemented in 10 locations and will be expanded across the entire country within the next 12 months, as stated during Question Hour in Lok Sabha.

"The current toll system will be eliminated. No one will stop you for toll collection anymore. Within a year, electronic toll collection will be implemented throughout the country," Gadkari declared.

The Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways also mentioned that approximately 4,500 highway projects valued at Rs 10 lakh crore are currently under development nationwide.

A recent official statement indicated that the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has created the National Electronic Toll Collection (NETC) program, which serves as a unified, interoperable platform for electronic toll payments, aimed at streamlining toll collection across India's highway network.

FASTag forms the central component of the NETC system, utilizing Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology through a device attached to a vehicle's windshield.

This technology enables automatic toll payments from the user's linked account without requiring vehicles to stop at toll plazas.