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Electronic Tolling to Replace Manual Collection: Nitin Gadkari
New Delhi:Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari on Thursday announced that the existing system of toll collection across national highways will be completely scrapped within the next one year and replaced by a fully electronic tolling mechanism, promising a smoother and congestion-free travel experience for commuters.
Making the announcement during Question Hour in the Lok Sabha, Gadkari said that under the new system, vehicles will no longer be required to stop at toll plazas. Instead, toll charges will be automatically deducted through a digital platform as vehicles pass through designated electronic checkpoints. “The present toll system will end. There will be no instance of stopping vehicles in the name of toll. Within one year, a completely electronic toll collection system will be implemented across the country,” Gadkari told the House.
Pilot Projects Already Underway
The Union Minister informed Parliament that the new electronic tolling technology has already been successfully rolled out at 10 locations across the country on a pilot basis. Based on its performance and technical validation, the government now plans to scale it up nationwide in a phased manner over the next 12 months.
The upcoming system is aimed at eliminating long queues at toll plazas, reducing fuel consumption, cutting emissions, and preventing revenue leakage while ensuring faster and more transparent toll collection.
Massive Highway Expansion in Progress
Highlighting the scale of infrastructure development underway, Gadkari also informed the House that around 4,500 highway projects worth nearly ₹10 lakh crore are currently under construction across India. These include expressways, national highways, economic corridors and access-controlled roads aimed at transforming the country’s road transport ecosystem.
He said the government’s focus is on combining speed, safety, transparency and technology-driven solutions in the transport sector.
FASTag and NETC: Backbone of Electronic Tolling
According to an earlier official statement, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has developed the National Electronic Toll Collection (NETC) programme to provide a unified, interoperable and cashless platform for toll payments across the country.
At the centre of the NETC system is FASTag, a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)-based device affixed on the windscreen of vehicles. FASTag enables automatic toll deduction directly from a linked bank account or digital wallet without stopping at toll booths.
The upcoming advanced electronic tolling model is expected to further build on the FASTag infrastructure, using GPS- and sensor-based technologies to enable toll collection based on actual distance travelled rather than fixed toll plaza locations.
End of Conventional Toll Booths
Once fully implemented, the new system is expected to eliminate physical toll booths, reducing human intervention, improving transparency, and enhancing commuter convenience. The government believes the shift will also significantly boost logistics efficiency, benefiting trade, transporters and daily highway users alike.
