FASTags were launched in 2016, when four banks together issued nearly a lakh of them. From 1 December 2017 a FASTag became mandatory for registering new four-wheelers, and electronic toll collection through FASTag was implemented from 15 December 2019, by which time over 1.15 crore tags had been issued. Fitment was then mandated for M and N category vehicles from 1 January 2021. From midnight of 15/16 February 2021, every lane at National Highway fee plazas was declared a FASTag lane.
FASTag & Electronic Tolling
FASTag & Electronic Tolling
FASTag is an RFID sticker on a vehicle's windscreen that lets the toll be deducted from a linked account without stopping, through the National Electronic Toll Collection programme run by NPCI. All lanes at National Highway fee plazas became FASTag lanes from midnight of 15/16 February 2021, and more than 98% of user fee on National Highways is now collected through FASTag. An Annual Pass for private cars, jeeps and vans followed on 15 August 2025, and barrier-free Multi-Lane Free Flow tolling began at selected plazas in 2026. The counter shows cumulative FASTags issued.
>98%
NH user fee collected via FASTag (Jan 2026)
~42 lakh
Annual Passes activated (31 Dec 2025)
₹50,855 crore
Toll collected via FASTag, incl. State Highways (2022)
FASTags issued, cumulative (crore)
| Year | FASTags issued (cumulative) |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 1.15 crore |
| 2021 | 4.35 crore |
| 2025 | 11.86 crore |
| Dashed bars are years the source does not publish; the shape between published years is drawn, not measured. | |
2019
0.00crore
FASTags issued (cumulative)
20192025
Since 2019
Added
+10.71 crore
2019
1.15 crore
2025
11.86 crore
Dashed bars are years the source does not publish; the shape between published years is drawn, not measured.
Why it matters Electronic tolling shortens the stop at a toll plaza: an impact assessment for 2024-25 found an average crossing time of 40 seconds under electronic tolling, against 12.23 minutes under manual tolling. Shorter queues save travellers time and fuel.
- FASTag made mandatory for registration of new four-wheelers from 1 Dec 2017; fitment mandated for M and N category vehicles from 1 Jan 2021
- All NH fee plaza lanes declared FASTag lanes from midnight of 15/16 Feb 2021; penetration rose to about 96% from 80% on 14 Feb 2021 (Lok Sabha, 22 Jul 2021)
- Toll collected via FASTag, including State Highway plazas: ₹34,778 crore (2021) and ₹50,855 crore (2022); transactions 219 crore and 324 crore (PIB, 24 Jan 2023)
- Average daily FASTag collection on NH fee plazas about ₹186 crore, with about 105 lakh daily transactions, in FY 2025-26 to December 2025
- Annual Pass from 15 Aug 2025: ₹3,000 for one year or 200 fee plaza crossings, for non-commercial cars, jeeps and vans; fee revised to ₹3,075 from 1 Apr 2026
- From 15 Nov 2025, non-FASTag users pay double the fee in cash, or 1.25 times through UPI (PIB, 11 Nov 2025)
History
Notable milestone
After all lanes became FASTag lanes, penetration rose to about 96% from 80% on 14 February 2021. Toll collected through FASTag, including State Highway plazas, rose from ₹34,778 crore in 2021 to ₹50,855 crore in 2022, and transactions from 219 crore to 324 crore. The FASTag Annual Pass, launched on 15 August 2025, had been activated about 42 lakh times by 31 December 2025, with over 19 crore transactions. By then around 25% of non-commercial vehicles using FASTag were doing so on an Annual Pass.
How it works
NPCI's National Electronic Toll Collection programme is a single interoperable platform, so one FASTag works at any participating plaza, with a central clearing house for settlement and disputes. A reader at the plaza detects the RFID tag and deducts the fee from the linked account. A vehicle without a valid FASTag must pay double the fee in cash, or 1.25 times if it pays by UPI, under rules in force from 15 November 2025. The Annual Pass costs ₹3,000 (₹3,075 from 1 April 2026) for one year or 200 crossings at about 1,150 National Highway and National Expressway plazas, and is activated through the Rajmargyatra app or the NHAI website.
Outlook
Tolling is moving towards barrier-free collection. NHAI launched Multi-Lane Free Flow tolling, which reads FASTags and number plates from overhead gantries, at Chorayasi on NH-48 in Gujarat in May 2026, followed by Mundka in Delhi, Daulatpura in Rajasthan (19 June 2026), Gharaunda on NH-44 in Haryana and Manoharpura in Rajasthan. A Lok Sabha reply of January 2026 listed 21 fee plazas where tenders for barrier-less tolling had been invited or finalised. Satellite-based GNSS tolling has been piloted on the Bengaluru–Mysuru (NH-275) and Panipat–Hisar (NH-709) stretches, and in April 2025 the ministry clarified that no decision had been taken to roll it out nationwide.
By the numbers
1.15 → 4.35 → 11.86 crore FASTags issued (Dec 2019 → Dec 2021 → Dec 2025). >98% of NH user fee collected via FASTag (Jan 2026). ~₹186 crore average daily FASTag collection on NH plazas (FY 2025-26 to Dec 2025). ~42 lakh Annual Passes activated (31 Dec 2025). 40 seconds average crossing time under electronic tolling, against 12.23 minutes manually (2024-25). Sources: MoRTH, NHAI, PIB.
Data current to: December 2025 (Lok Sabha reply, 29 Jan 2026)
Source: MoRTH / NHAI via PIB — cumulative FASTags issued (crore) at three official December snapshots: 1.15 crore (31 Dec 2019), 4.35 crore (21 Dec 2021) and 11.86 crore (December 2025); years with no official December figure are left blank. Toll collected through FASTag is not charted, because PIB gives full-year totals only for calendar 2021 and 2022. Headline: Lok Sabha reply of 29 January 2026 (linked). · link