In a significant move towards modernizing India’s highway infrastructure, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Shri Nitin Gadkari, announced that the traditional toll collection system on national highways will be completely phased out within the next one year. The transition aims to offer commuters a seamless, stop-free travel experience across the country.
The Minister confirmed that the new electronic tolling mechanism has already been implemented at ten locations as part of its pilot phase. Once deployed nationwide, this system will eliminate the need for vehicles to halt at toll plazas, thereby reducing congestion and improving travel efficiency.
The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has developed the National Electronic Tolling Program (NETP) software to support the upcoming transformation. The upgraded system continues to operate on the FASTag platform, using Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags fixed on vehicle windshields to enable automatic toll deduction without manual intervention.
Shri Gadkari also shared that the Ministry is currently executing 4,500 national disaster relief and infrastructure projects, with a total investment of ₹10 lakh crore, reiterating the government’s commitment to building world-class road networks and resilient transport systems.