FASTag Annual Pass Scheme: From Activation To Validity, All You Need To Know
Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday introduced a FASTag-based annual pass, which is going to benefit the users. The minister said that the "transformative" step by the government will enable people to travel on a very large scale without any fuss.
What is FASTag?
It is a device that employs Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology for making cashless toll payments. The device is pasted on the windscreen of the vehicle and helps the users to directly make payments from the account which is linked to the FASTag. With the help of FASTag, commuters can save fuel and time as they don't have to stop at the toll plaza.
FASTag Annual Pass Scheme
What is the validity, and who can apply for it?
The FASTag-based annual pass will be issued from August 15 at a price of Rs3,000. It will be valid for a year from the date of activation or up to 200 trips, whichever comes first. The pass is valid only at National Highway and Expressway fee plazas. The process remains standard on toll plazas under state highways or local authorities, with the application of regular toll rates.
The pass will be available for non-commercial private vehicles only, such as cars, jeeps, and vans.
How to activate the FASTag-based annual pass?
The pass will be activated on the exiting FASTags. There's no need to buy a new one. Mr Gadkari revealed that a dedicated link for activation and renewal will soon be made available on the Rajmarg Yatra App as well as on the official websites of NHAI and MoRTH.
How will it benefit the users?
The regular users could save up to Rs7,000 annually, according to the ministry, as the average toll cost drops from Rs50 to Rs15 per trip. The minister said that this policy addresses long-standing concerns regarding toll plazas located within a 60 km range and simplifies toll payments through a single, affordable transaction.
"By reducing wait times, easing congestion, and minimising disputes at toll plazas, the Annual Pass aims to deliver a faster and smoother travel experience for millions of private vehicle owners," he added.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Wire
36 minutes ago
- The Wire
Step Inside the Future of Indian Strength Equipment
Unrack Factory Open Day on June 20 Bengaluru, Karnataka, India (NewsVoir) After a successful first edition, Unrack Fit, India's homegrown strength training brand, is reopening its factory doors on June 20, an open invitation for fitness professionals, gym owners, and anyone interested to know how strength equipment is made in India. From raw steel to finished barbells, witness how high-performance lifting gear is imagined, engineered, and built entirely in India. Whether you're a gym owner, fitness coach, strength enthusiast, or simply curious about how world-class equipment is made, Unrack's Factory Open Day offers a behind-the-scenes experience you won't find anywhere else. Led by Dr. Sahana, Unrack Fit's Founder and former Strength & Conditioning Coach for British Aquatics, playing a key role in preparing female divers through the Tokyo and Paris Olympic cycles. The walkthrough includes demonstrating raw material handling, polishing, finishing, and product testing. Attendees also had the opportunity to interact directly with the team and try out the equipment on-site. 'This isn't just a tour. It's a conversation about Indian innovation in strength equipment, and why it matters,' says Dr. Sahana. With over seven years in elite sport, including Olympic medal-winning campaigns, her mission is to build world-class equipment from India, for the world. The first open day on June 14 brought together members of the fitness community who spent time understanding the work behind each product. It was not a promotional event. It was about sharing the process, taking questions, and opening up the space. The next factory open day is on June 20. Location: Unrack, Peenya, Bengaluru Register Now: About Unrack Fit Unrack is a Bengaluru-based brand focused on designing and manufacturing strength training equipment in India. Unrack's products are developed in-house, combining performance, durability, and practical design. The company was founded by Dr Sahana, a former Olympic strength and conditioning coach, with a commitment to making high-quality equipment accessible to athletes, gyms, fitness enthusiasts and training professionals. For further information, visit (Disclaimer: The above press release comes to you under an arrangement with Newsvoir and PTI takes no editorial responsibility for the same.). This is an auto-published feed from PTI with no editorial input from The Wire.
Time of India
40 minutes ago
- Time of India
How the world's top ad agencies aligned to fix prices in India
HighlightsOmnicom Media's India Chief, Kartik Sharma, expressed frustration over a rival's attempt to poach their client by offering lower prices, which violated a collective agreement among global advertising agencies on ad rates in India. The Competition Commission of India is investigating a suspected cartel among major advertising firms, including WPP Media, Omnicom Media, and Interpublic Group Mediabrands, for coordinating pricing and denying business to non-compliant agencies. A WhatsApp group named 'AAAI media agencies' included top executives from various advertising companies coordinating their pitches and pricing strategies, which led to concerns about antitrust violations in India's media sector. Omnicom Media 's India chief was frustrated. It was October 5, 2023 and a rival was trying to poach the U.S. firm's client by offering lower prices, just weeks after global advertising agencies and broadcasters struck secret pacts on ad rates in the South Asian country. The attempt to woo the client violated the agencies' agreement, Omnicom Media's India CEO Kartik Sharma wrote in a WhatsApp group comprising a who's who of advertising, according to excerpts of the discussion documented by antitrust investigators and verified by Reuters. "This kind of practice is not in the spirit of what we are collectively trying to achieve," Sharma wrote, without identifying the parties. Shashi Sinha, then India CEO of New York-based IPG Mediabrands, suggested an industry group should "admonish the agency". The exchanges form part of a confidential dossier compiled by India's antitrust watchdog that chronicles how global advertising companies, including leading U.S. and European firms, coordinated to rig prices in the world's most populous nation. Reuters reviewed evidence from the Competition Commission of India (CCI) investigation, including a 10-page document with messages and records of meetings between top advertising executives, and two industry agreements under scrutiny for antitrust violations; and interviewed two people familiar with the probe. The key details, which haven't been previously reported, centre on WhatsApp interactions involving 11 industry executives. They include the top India or South Asia executives of WPP's GroupM; U.S.-based Omnicom Media and Interpublic's IPG Mediabrands; France's Publicis and Havas Media; Japan's Dentsu and India's Madison World. Over WhatsApp and in meetings, the executives coordinated responses to clients, which "resulted in alignment of competing advertising agencies," CCI officials said in the August 9 dossier, determining on an initial basis that the conduct contravened competition law. The firms agreed to cooperate on pricing, including not to undercut each other; colluded with broadcasters to deny business to agencies that didn't comply; and discussed financial terms involving at least four Indian clients over conference calls, according to the investigation documents. The documents don't indicate whether the agencies' foreign headquarters were aware of the executives' actions. A spokesperson for WPP Media , which until May was known as GroupM, told Reuters it was aware of the investigation but declined to comment further. A Dentsu India spokesperson confirmed Reuters reporting that it had disclosed industry practices to the CCI in February 2024 under the regulator's leniency program, which enables lesser penalties for firms that share evidence of malpractice. The spokesperson didn't address specific evidence raised in the dossier but said the firm had implemented stricter audits and controls. The other agencies and their executives didn't respond to Reuters questions about the antitrust probe and information in the dossier. The regulator also didn't respond to queries. Reuters has reported that in March, as part of the continuing investigation, the regulator raided the Indian offices of many advertising firms and an industry group that represents broadcasters, including the Reliance-Disney venture and Sony . CCI investigations typically take several months. The regulator can't press criminal charges, but can impose financial penalties on the media agencies of up to three times their profit or 10% of an Indian entity's global turnover, whichever is higher, for each year of wrongdoing. Secret Pacts WPP Media, the world's largest media buying agency, last year - when it was still known as GroupM - won new India business worth $447 million, followed by Omnicom's $183 million, according to research firm COMvergence. But India's near-$30 billion media and entertainment sector is grappling with weak consumer sentiment. Ad spending will rise 7% to $19 billion in 2025, the slowest growth in three years, according to GroupM estimates. The CCI is investigating the role of two industry bodies, the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) and the Indian Broadcasting & Digital Foundation (IBDF), in orchestrating the suspected cartel. The former group is led by WPP Media India head Prasanth Kumar, while the broadcasting body's president is Kevin Vaz, a top Reliance-Disney venture executive. Neither industry group responded to requests for comment. The dossier shows the AAAI circulated guidelines to ad agencies in August 2023: They must charge clients whose annual spending exceeds $29 million a minimum 3% commission for digital ads and 2.5% for traditional media. Lower-spending clients would pay higher minimum commissions of up to 8%. A month later, the industry associations entered a joint pact, agreeing no agency would "unilaterally offer any discount" on rates while pitching for business. The pact, reviewed by Reuters, declared its aim was to eliminate "lower pricing as a reason to award a pitch". The advertising firms began coordinating their activities at least as early as August 2023, according to the CCI documents. Ad executives who met on December 1 that year hailed their collaboration as a "great success" and resolved to continue, according to meeting minutes cited in the CCI's evidence. 'All Aligned' In the U.S., the Federal Trade Commission this month sought information from advertising agencies as part of a probe into whether they coordinated boycotts of certain sites. The Justice Department in 2016 probed agencies it suspected of rigging bids to favour in-house units, but eventually closed the case without bringing charges. Brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev used CCI's leniency program to blow the whistle on an industry cartel in India in 2017. In the case of the ad industry, Dentsu India told Reuters it filed its leniency application with the CCI not as a reaction to external pressure but out of a decision to "support reform from within". Two people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters the evidence Dentsu submitted included a transcript of the WhatsApp group. The group, formed in August 2023 and reviewed in part by Reuters, was named "AAAI media agencies" and contained scores of chat messages. Participants included Kumar of WPP's media company, Sharma of Omnicom Media, IPG Mediabrands' Sinha, Havas Media India CEO Mohit Joshi, Dentsu South Asia CEO Harsha Razdan and then-media business CEO Anita Kotwani, Publicis South Asia chief Anupriya Acharya and Madison boss Sam Balsara, the investigators' evidence shows. Members of the group discussed advertising pitches and coordinated on interactions with clients such as food delivery giant Swiggy , drug maker Cipla, SoftBank-backed e-commerce firm Meesho, and Kshema Insurance. In Swiggy's case, the AAAI arranged a Zoom call with media agency heads to discuss the company's advertising pitch. Later, GroupM's Kumar, as AAAI president, suggested an email response to Swiggy explaining the industry's agreed position on rebates. "Ok all aligned thanks," he wrote after a consensus emerged. Kshema told Reuters the insurer was unaware of the matter. The other clients didn't respond to questions. During another discussion on client rebates, an unspecified Dentsu executive told rivals over WhatsApp that "the lowest we go to is retain 30% and 70% we pass back to the client," according to the CCI dossier. CCI officials noted in the document that advertisers and the broadcasters' group had sought to penalise enterprises that didn't comply with the pricing pacts. In an email to Walt Disney in August 2023, Kumar wrote that broadcasters should refrain from granting business to a firm that had breached the pacts, ITW Consulting, though he said it had later agreed not to approach clients directly. ITW didn't respond to Reuters questions. Tensions heated up again over WhatsApp three months later. Sharma, of Omnicom Media, learned that ITW had done another "direct deal with a client of ours" for advertising on streaming platform Hotstar, which was run by Disney. This irked Sharma, as Hotstar had the rights for the cricket World Cup held in India at the time. "This nuisance has to stop," he wrote in the group.
Mint
42 minutes ago
- Mint
Big Pay Packages Spark Growing Dissent Among UK Shareholders
Shareholder dissent over executive pay at British companies is rising just as firms seek to bolster pay packages to remain internationally competitive. Three times as many companies faced opposition from more than 20% of shareholders so far this year compared with the same period in 2024, data from proxy-solicitation firm Georgeson Inc. shows. With investors having already voted on remuneration reports from more than half of FTSE 350 companies, 16 faced dissent exceeding 20% between Jan. 1 and May 31 this year, up from five in 2024, the data shows. 'Last year, FTSE 350 companies were more conservative in recommending higher levels of pay, which led to high shareholder support and low levels of opposition,' said Daniel Veazey, Georgeson's corporate governance manager. Pay packages of UK-based chief executive officers have grown faster this year than those of US rivals, with companies racing to close the gap to attract and retain top talent. The median FTSE 100 CEO package increased 7% to £4.79 million in 2024, according to Deloitte. 'UK Plcs are feeling freer to propose new remuneration policies designed to remain competitive with US and EU peers,' said Sonia Gilbert, Clifford Chance's incentives partner. London Stock Exchange Group Plc came up against a shareholder revolt at its annual meeting on May 1, with 31% voting against the company's remuneration report, which saw CEO David Schwimmer take home £7.9 million in its latest financial year. Consumer giant Unilever Plc also faced close to 30% opposition against new boss Fernando Fernandez's base salary, which was just modestly short of his predecessor's. UK companies are challenging the status quo a little more this year, encouraged by widespread shareholder support in 2024 and relaxed Investment Association guidelines on pay, Georgeson's Veazey said. Of 55 FTSE 100 companies that had published their fiscal 2024 reports, 24 were seeking shareholder approval for new remuneration policies, compared with 16 at the same time last year, research by Deloitte in April shows. Of those proposing changes, more than 40% submitted their policies ahead of the usual three-year cycle. British American Tobacco Plc CEO Tadeu Luiz Marroco could earn as much as £18.2 million this year under a performance-related policy, a jump from the £6 million he earned in 2024. Compass Group Plc's Dominic Blakemore also stands to benefit from a proposed maximum payout of £15.3 million in 2025, up from the £9.5 million he earned in total last year. Both maximum figures are based on a 50% increase in the stock awards from the date of grant to vesting. These proposals highlight 'the need to attract top talent in a competitive global market and address pay compression challenges,' said Mitul Shah, a partner at Deloitte's executive remuneration and rewards practice. The UK government's decision to maintain the removal of the cap on banker bonuses has gone some way to bridging the transatlantic gap. Bank of America Corp. is the latest to join a slew of rivals in scrapping the crisis-era limit. Some of the world's biggest banks are pushing UK regulators to accelerate plans to ease rules around deferred bonuses so they can apply the lighter regime to payouts for 2025. This follows long-time calls by executives including London Stock Exchange CEO Julia Hoggett that restrictions on pay were hindering companies' efforts to attract game-changing candidates and undermining the attractiveness of the City of London. Performance, especially in sectors with key competitors in the US and a tight market for talent, will ultimately steer how amenable shareholders are to boosting compensation. 'It comes down to the right shareholder engagement,' Clifford Chance's Gilbert said.
