It was back, in November 2016, that the Government of India asked automobile manufacturers to provide a digital identity tag, in all new vehicles, so as to help in enabling electronic payment at all toll plazas, thus ensuring the seamless movement of vehicles, at check posts. While this was a good move, towards a cashless digital economy, the inadequate infrastructure has made it an unnecessary addition, to the car. These tags use the same technology as the (Radio-Frequency Identification) RFID tags, which were already installed on 73 lakh cars, but have not been used, because of lack of infrastructure. So, some of these tags will need to be replaced or updated. Currently, Fastags are being provided, by a number of banks, and it will now be the dealers' responsibility, to offer FasTags, from August, before the cars come out of the showrooms.
In a nation, where a majority of consumers still deal in cash, the government is pushing for electronic transactions, to improve transparency and with the automotive market growing two folds, with every passing year, the density of cars will grow and such toll tags will come in handy, for seamless movement of traffic, without having to stop at toll booths. The toll amount is deducted from the tag and the consumers can recharge it, for future use.
The proposal, to roll out the tags, has been advanced, by almost two months, and the dealers, who will have the additional responsibility of offering a Fastag to the consumer, have this to say, "It's good, in a way, that these tags will be offered at our showrooms and the installation too might not take much time, but the consumer will want to know the benefits s/he gets from this too. Yes, it's convenient and in a city like Mumbai, it's already helping people cross the Sea-Link with ease. It's certainly not a burden."
The new tags will not cost a lot, so it won't burn a hole, in your pocket. A manager at a Ford dealership said, "The Fastag costs around Rs. 100 and all payments can be done electronically, so that's a big plus. We'll wait to see what instructions we get from the company."
