• Recently, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari informed Parliament that government planning to implement a new highway toll collection system based on the global navigation satellite system to provide users the benefit of paying toll only for the actual distance travelled on a highway, or pay-as-you-use and allow barrier-free movement.

Background

• Currently, highway toll collection system incorporates FASTag for collecting Toll collection.
• FASTag employs Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology for making toll payments directly while the vehicle is in motion.
• In January 2024, NHAI launched the ‘One Vehicle, One FASTag’ initiative that aims to discourage user behavior of using single FASTag for multiple vehicles.
• The global navigation satellite system is a term used to refer to any satellite-based navigation system, including the United States’ Global Positioning System (GPS). 

Major Highlights of proposed System

• Implementation will involve an On-Board Unit (OBU), or a tracking device, fitted inside a vehicle whose location can be mapped using GAGAN, the Indian satellite navigation system with an approximate accuracy of 10 metres.
• The co-ordinates of the entire length of the country’s national highways will have to be logged with the help of digital image processing, and software will be used to assign the toll rate on a particular highway, calculate the toll amount for a vehicle as per the distance travelled by it and then deduct it from a wallet linked to the OBU.
• The system will additionally have gantries, or arches mounted with CCTV cameras, at various points on a highway for enforcement purposes. 
• These will capture an image of the vehicle’s high security registration plate and cross verify if a road user is trying to trick the system by either removing the tracking device or travelling without an OBU onboard.
• The new tolling system will co-exist with the FASTag-based toll collection as the government has not yet taken a decision on whether OBUs will be made mandatory for all vehicles or only for new vehicles.

Challenges

• Recovering the toll amount will be challenge if a road user fails to clear his payment after completing a journey on a highway.
• Lack of infrastructure related to Gantry-mounted Automatic Number-Plate Recognition (ANPR)-based systems for capturing violations in the country.
• Safeguarding privacy of vehicle users and increased state surveillance.

About National Highways Authority of India (NHAI)

• Constituted: By an Act of Parliament in 1988.
• Administrative control: Ministry of Road Transport and Highways

Numbering of National Highways in India?

• Odd numbers: Assigned to North-South highways.
• Even numbers: Given to East-West highways.
• Golden Quadrilateral: Carries numbers ending in “5” and connects major cities.
• North-East highways: Numbered in the 100s.
• Circular and radial routes: Numbered in the 200s.
• Feeder routes: Numbered in the 300s.
• Border roads: Numbered in the 400s.
• East-West corridors: Designated in the 500s.
• North-South corridors: Designated in the 600s.
• Special highways: These may have unique numbers based on their significance or specific purpose.

Exam Oriented facts