Top News

The Central Government has made a historic and revolutionary announcement for crores of drivers traveling on Indian National Highways. Speaking from the stage of the prestigious Global Fintech Fest (GFF 2026) held in Mumbai, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari clarified that India is going to enter the fully digital tolling era without boom barriers very soon. This new technology is called Multi-Lane Free Flow (MLFF) Barrier-Free Tolling System. The main objective of this ambitious scheme is to completely eliminate the compulsion of vehicles to stop on highways and expressways (Zero Stoppage). After the implementation of the new system, the traditional toll plazas, iron barriers and queues of vehicles installed on the National Highway will become a thing of the past. Vehicles will continue to operate at their normal cruising speed and user fees will be deducted automatically through overhead electronic gantries. Barrier-free tolling system will be implemented in the entire country by March 2027: Know Nitin Gadkari's deadline. While addressing the program, Nitin Gadkari also shared the deadline for the rollout of this new system. He said that the Highways Ministry and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) have started work on this on a war footing: 70% work completed by December 2026: The ministry has directed all concerned agencies and officials to make 60 to 70 percent of the toll plazas in the country compatible with free-flow infrastructure by the end of the year. Nationwide rollout by February-March 2027: According to Gadkari, the barrier-free toll plaza system will be formally implemented in all states and union territories across the country between February and March next year. Success of Pilot Project: The government has already successfully pilot tested this barrier-free technology at the Mundka-Bakkarwala toll plaza on Urban Extension Road-II (UER-II), Delhi, following the positive data from which it has been decided to implement it at around 1,200 toll plazas across the country. How will Multi-Lane Free Flow (MLFF) system work? This question often arises in the minds of drivers that when there is no toll booth or barrier on the road, how will the government collect toll? This entire system will work on the synergy of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and modern sensor technology: High-speed overhead gantries: Large metal frames (Gantries) will be installed above the road, on which state-of-the-art RFID readers and high-definition cameras will be installed. Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR): As soon as a vehicle passes under the gantry at a speed of 80 to 100 km/h, ANPR cameras will instantly scan the number plate of the vehicle. Matching of FASTag and vehicle database: The system will automatically match the FASTag installed on the vehicle and the database of the central VAHAN portal. Accurate and transparent deduction: Based on the point at which the vehicle entered and exited the highway, toll for the distance covered will be deducted directly from the linked bank account or digital wallet, and an SMS will be sent to the user's mobile immediately. 'OneTag' launched: Fastag's banking will now change like mobile number portability. During the Global Fintech Fest, Nitin Gadkari also officially launched the 'OneTag' solution developed by Indian Highway Management Company Limited (IHMCL) and NPCI. This is a huge convenience for crores of Fastag users in the country: Freedom to switch banks without changing the tag: Earlier, if a user did not like the service of his Fastag issuing bank or there were any restrictions on the bank, then he had to scratch the old tag from the glass of his vehicle and buy a new tag. FASTag Portability Facility: Now through 'One Tag', users will be able to change their bank without changing the existing physical FASTag affixed on their windscreen, just like changing SIM Company (MNP) without changing the mobile number. Easy process through Rajmargyatra app: This portability facility has been made available on NHAI's official 'Rajmargyatra' mobile app, where customers can choose the bank of their choice after easy verification and consent. Saving time, fuel and billions of rupees: The country's economy will get a huge boost. Nitin Gadkari explained through statistics that barrier-free tolling is not just a means of making travel easier, but it is a big engine of the country's economic and environmental development: Waiting time reduced from 30 minutes to zero: Before the implementation of Fastag, the average waiting time at toll plazas used to be 12 to 30 minutes. Fastag had reduced it by 80-90%, and now the new barrier-free system will reduce it to zero i.e. less than 10 seconds. Time savings worth ₹ 68,500 crore annually: Due to non-stopping of trains at toll, about 71 crore hours of valuable time of passengers across the country will be saved annually, the economic value of which is estimated to be more than ₹ 68,500 crore. Saving of 56 crore liters of fuel: Oil consumption caused by standing at the toll plaza with the engine started will stop. This will save approximately 56 crore liters of fuel every year, worth ₹5,250 crore. Lifesaver to the environment: The impact of carbon emission reduction resulting from this huge fuel savings will provide environmental benefits equivalent to planting approximately 2.7 crore new trees. Drastic reduction in toll operating costs: Currently, 12 to 15 percent of the total collection is spent on maintenance and staff of toll plazas. With the introduction of automatic free-flow system, this will reduce to just 2 to 4 percent, which will lead to direct savings of ₹ 6,000 to ₹ 7,000 crore per year to the government and increase toll revenue by ₹ 10,000 crore. At present, more than 13 crore Fastags have been issued in the country and more than 98 percent of toll collection is being done through digital medium. With this twin step of barrier-free tolling and one-tag portability, India's national highways are now going to be transformed into completely smart, seamless and modern logistics hubs.