NEW DELHI, October 16 — The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), under the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), on Friday formally launched operational pilot testing of the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) based barrier-less Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) system across the Delhi–Jaipur (NH-48) and Bengaluru–Mysuru Expressway corridors.
The cutting-edge system operates via vehicle-fitted On-Board Units (OBUs) interoperable with existing RFID FASTags, tracking distance-based travel along highway stretches using virtual geo-fenced gantries and satellite telemetry backed by India's NavIC and GPS constellations. Toll tariffs are calculated precisely on a pay-per-kilometre basis and automatically debited from linked digital wallets without requiring vehicles to decelerate at physical booths.
Highways engineers emphasized that free-flow electronic tolling completely eliminates congestion bottlenecks, curtails vehicular idling emissions, and significantly improves freight velocity, directly advancing the National Logistics Policy goal of compressing aggregate logistics overheads below 8 percent of GDP.
The statutory framework of the National Highways Authority of India Act 1988, the National Highway Fee (Determination of Rates and Collection) Rules 2008, the mechanics of Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC) and Satellite Navigation (NavIC/GNSS), and logistics infrastructure reforms represent high-frequency topics in UPSC Civil Services (GS-III: Infrastructure & Transport Governance) and engineering exams.