Tracker entry M49: India: FASTag on national highways and MLFF barrier-free tolling
In force
India
- Region
- Asia Pacific
- Sector
- Tolling and vehicles
- Imposed by
- NHAI / MoRTH
- Applies to
- All vehicles on national highways
- Technology
- RFID required (UHF)
What the rule requires
Every vehicle using a national highway toll plaza needs a working FASTag, a passive UHF RFID windscreen tag, or it pays a surcharge; MLFF plazas read the FASTag with overhead readers plus ANPR cameras so vehicles do not stop. Reader, tag and ANPR suppliers should expect more MLFF tenders as the 104 identified plazas are bid out.
Status: In force; FASTag effectively compulsory since Feb 2021, MLFF free-flow plazas expanding (5 operational, 17 approved at Jul 2026)
What it means for RFID
FASTag is a passive UHF RFID windscreen tag, and every vehicle using a national highway toll plaza needs a working one or pays more: 1.25 times the toll by UPI or twice in cash since 15 November 2025. RFID News reported in August 2026 that FASTag operates in the 860 to 960 MHz band.
The growth is in multi-lane free flow (MLFF), where overhead readers and ANPR cameras read the tag at highway speed and controlling the read zone, so a reader does not pick up the next lane, is the main technical demand. We have reported MLFF deployments by STAR Systems International, with its Titan Pro reader and Avior antenna, and by FETC International with ICICI Bank.
At July 2026, 17 plazas were approved for MLFF, 5 were operational and 104 more had been identified. We reported that the Economic Survey 2025-26 targets MLFF on all four-lane and wider national highways by March 2029, so reader, tag and ANPR suppliers should expect tenders as those plazas are bid out.
Timeline
- All lanes at national highway fee plazas become FASTag lanes; untagged vehicles pay double (from midnight 15/16 Feb 2021)
- FASTag annual pass launched for private non-commercial vehicles (one year or 200 crossings)
- IHMCL signs MLFF agreements with ICICI Bank for Choryasi (NH-48) and Gharaunda (NH-44) plazas
- Amended fee rules: vehicles without a valid FASTag pay 1.25 times the toll by UPI, twice in cash
- Annual pass fee rises to Rs 3,075 for 2026-27
- Cash toll payments discontinued at national highway plazas, FASTag or UPI only (press reports give 1 or 10 April)
- India's first MLFF barrier-free toll plaza launched at Choryasi, NH-48, Gujarat
- MoRTH tells Lok Sabha: 17 plazas approved for MLFF, 5 operational, 104 more identified
Our coverage
- Delhi’s RFID border tolls go free-flow, eight years after the first tags29 Oct 2026
- STAR Systems International announces India MLFF deployments5 Aug 2026
- NHAI completes barrier-free RFID tolling across the full Delhi-Jaipur NH-48 corridor5 Aug 2026
- India’s First Operational MLFF Barrier-Free RFID Tolling Live on Two National Highways30 Jul 2026
Sources
Official source: Business Today (MoRTH Lok Sabha reply)
Last checked against the official source on 29 October 2026.
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