Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has announced that India’s current toll booth system will be completely replaced within a year. Speaking in the Lok Sabha during Question Hour on Thursday, he said that the old method of stopping vehicles at toll plazas will soon end, and a fully electronic toll collection system will take its place.

Gadkari explained that the new system has already been launched at 10 locations across the country. These trials are going well, and the plan is to expand the system to the entire national highway network within a year. He said that once this technology is in place, vehicles will not have to slow down or stand in lines at toll plazas. Instead, toll will be collected automatically as the vehicle passes through.

“This toll system will end. No one will stop you in the name of toll. Within a year, an electronic toll collection system will be implemented across the country,” Gadkari assured. The minister also informed Parliament that nearly 4,500 highway projects worth ₹10 lakh crore are currently underway across India. These projects aim to improve road connectivity, reduce travel time, and boost economic growth.

According to an official statement issued recently, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has developed the National Electronic Toll Collection (NETC) programme. This programme is designed to make toll payment easier, faster, and more transparent. It provides a single, unified digital platform that works across all toll plazas in the country.

At the centre of this system is FASTag, a small sticker containing Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology. This tag is placed on the windscreen of a vehicle. When the vehicle passes through a toll plaza, the system scans the FASTag and automatically deducts the toll amount from the linked bank account or wallet.

Drivers do not need to stop their vehicles or hand over cash. The government believes that this shift to fully electronic toll collection will cut down traffic jams, reduce fuel wastage, and offer a smoother travel experience for millions of drivers across the country.