Ministry of Road Transport & Highways has decided that all lanes in the fee plazas on National Highways shall be declared as “FASTag lane of the fee plaza”.

Fastag went unnoticed this year. The RFID technology deployed in this holds an intuition for its relevance in CS prelims and many forthcoming exams.

What is ‘FASTag’?

• FASTags are stickers that are affixed to the windscreen of vehicles and use Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology to enable digital, contactless payment of tolls without having to stop at toll gates.
• The tags are linked to bank accounts and other payment methods.
• As a car crosses a toll plaza, the amount is automatically deducted, and a notification is sent to the registered mobile phone number.

How does it work?

• The device employs Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology for payments directly from the prepaid or savings account linked to it.
• It is affixed on the windscreen, so the vehicle can drive through plazas without stopping.
• RFID technology is similar to that used in transport access-control systems, like Metro smart card.
• If the tag is linked to a prepaid account like a wallet or a debit/credit card, then owners need to recharge/top up the tag.
• If it is linked to a savings account, then money will get deducted automatically after the balance goes below a pre-defined threshold.
• Once a vehicle crosses the toll, the owner will get an SMS alert on the deduction. In that, it is like a prepaid e-wallet.

Must read:

[Burning Issue] Implementation of FASTags

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