Several state governments sign MoUs with NHAI to join FASTag

Several road agencies under state governments have signed MoUs with NHAI to allow the use of FASTag to pay toll charges on state roads. These agencies include Uttar Pradesh Expressway Industrial Development Authority Limited, the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation, the Tamil Nadu Road Development Corporation, the Andhra Pradesh Road Development Corporation and the Karnataka Road Development Corporation, besides public works departments of Haryana, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab and Telangana. Besides, another MoU has been signed between Indian Highways Management Company Limited (IHMCL) and GST Network for integrating the E-Way Bill (EWB) system with FASTag to overcome the existing challenges in the track and trace mechanism for the GST EWB system, besides keeping a check on the leakage of revenue at toll plazas. This integration with the EWB system will become mandatory on an all-India basis from April 2020. Further, IHMCL and NHAI have developed the My FASTag mobile app to provide a one-stop solution to all FASTag customers. In another noteworthy development, the central government has sought the Reserve Bank of India’s approval for expanding the usage of radio frequency identification-based FASTags as open-loop cards to enable their use for other transactions such as fuel purchase.