One Vehicle, One FASTag
Context:
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has rolled out the ‘One Vehicle, One FASTag’ initiative starting from April 1, 2024.
- This initiative of NHAI aims to discourage the use of a single FASTag for multiple vehicles or linking multiple FASTags to one vehicle
Relevance:
GS-02 (Government policies and interventions)
What is a FASTag?
- FASTag is a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) device used for seamless toll payments while vehicles are in motion.
- NHAI introduced two mobile apps, MyFASTag and FASTag Partner, to facilitate its availability. The tag, valid for five years, comes in seven different colors.
Benefits:
- Road Users experience swift passage through toll plazas, convenient cashless toll payment, and reduced traffic congestion for shorter commute times.
- Toll Operators benefit from lower operational costs, enhanced audit control through centralized user accounts, and increased capacity without infrastructure expansion.
- The Government sees fuel savings and emissions reduction from decreased idling and repeated toll plaza stops, along with enhanced toll transaction transparency.
Fact for prelims:
- Radio Frequency Identification: It is a technology that uses radio waves to passively identify a tagged object. The system has two basic parts: tags and readers.
- The reader emits radio waves and receives signals from the RFID tag, while the tag utilizes radio waves to transmit its identity and additional data.
- NHAI:
- It was constituted by an Act of Parliament in 1988 under the administrative control of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways as a Central Authority to develop, maintain and manage the National Highways entrusted to it by the Government of India.
- The panel consists of a full time Chairman, and not more than five full time Members and four part time Members who are appointed by the Central Government.
