Context:

  • The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has recently announced that all FASTags with incomplete Know Your Customer (KYC) will be deactivated or blacklisted by the issuing banks after January 31 even if they are having enough balance.
  • The initiative mainly aims to discourage the use of a single FASTag for several vehicles or linking multiple electronic toll collection tools to a single vehicle.

About FASTag:

  • FASTag is launched by NHAI and is an Electronic Toll Collection program which is aimed to ease commute on roads.
  • The FASTag is a tag which is attached to the windscreen of the vehicle and linked to the bank account or a prepaid card.
  • Once enrolling in the program FASTag card or tag will be issued. This tag has to be attached to the vehicle.
  • This FASTag technology is enabled in over 240 toll plazas in the country.
  • FASTag uses Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology to collect toll tax payments on the road.
  • When a FASTag-attached vehicle passes by a toll plaza, a scanner at the plaza identifies the FASTtag and deducts tax from the linked bank account or the prepaid card.
  • The FASTag is valid for five years from the day of purchase.

Benefits of FASTag:

  1. Cashless transactions since the money is through bank account directly.
  2. With a FASTag one can avoid the queues at toll plazas and glide through which leads to smooth travel.
  3. It also leads to the saving up of the fuel.

About NHAI:

  • National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is a statutory regulatory body.
  • It was constituted by an Act of Parliament in 1988 under the administrative control of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
  • It has been set up as a Central Authority to develop, maintain and manage the National Highways entrusted to it by the Government of India.