The government is working on a separate category of FASTags for toll-exempt vehicles as part of the nationwide implementation of Multi-Lane Free Flow (MLFF) tolling on national highways, according to people familiar with the development.
The proposed system is aimed at enabling exempt vehicles, including those used by the armed forces and select government agencies, to move seamlessly through toll corridors without being charged or flagged for violations under the upcoming AI-based tolling framework.
India’s planned MLFF tolling system will use artificial intelligence, satellite tracking, and automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) technology to collect tolls electronically while vehicles continue moving at highway speeds, eliminating the need for physical toll plazas.
Under the new proposal, exempted vehicles may be issued specially configured FASTags that can digitally record vehicle movement without deducting toll charges. Official military vehicles, however, may not require FASTags, as their movement could instead be identified through special defence number plates. Associated movement data would reportedly be deleted immediately after verification for security reasons.
The government is currently evaluating two implementation models. The first involves creating a centralised database of exempted vehicles with the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), enabling backend integration with the MLFF tolling system. The second model proposes issuing dedicated FASTags with unlimited toll-free privileges to authorised agencies.
The initiative comes as the government accelerates preparations for the wider rollout of barrier-free electronic toll collection systems across national highways.
Former defence and road transport secretary Giridhar Aramane said pilot projects involving the armed forces, police, and paramilitary agencies have already been conducted, integrating exempted vehicle databases with tolling systems to ensure smoother passage.
Aramane noted that the transition also creates challenges for private vehicles used for official purposes under exempted categories, adding that such vehicles could either be integrated into the MoRTH database or issued special FASTags with unrestricted movement privileges.
