New Delhi: Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways and MSME Nitin Gadkari released late here yesterday TV awareness campaign featuring Bollywood star Akshay Kumar. The event was attended by Shri Akshay Kumar who is also the brand ambassador of Ministry's Road Safety Campaign. Speaking on the occasion Gadkari informed that FASTag initiative rolled out on 15th of December, 2019, has picked up in a big way as more than 1 crore FASTags have been issued as on date. The transactions per day have crossed 2 million with over Rs 80 crore collection happening through the digital mode. He added that the TV awareness campaign featuring Shri Akay Kumar will give it a further fillip.
The Minister called upon remaining vehicle users to switch over to FASTags as quickly as possible. He added that issues arising in the course of transition from manual toll collection to digital mode are also being attended to on priority.
Akshay Kumar expressed his happiness that he could associate himself with this campaign which will help in better traffic movement. He added that FASTag initiative puts India at par with global best practices in providing hassle-free movement at the Toll Plazas. Gadkari thanked the Bollywood star Shri Akshay Kumar for his continued contribution to the cause of improved road travel experience in India.
The Minister of State for Road Transport & Highways General (Retd.) Dr VK Singh said that an enormous amount of efforts have been made to make the FASTag work. He added that digital transaction at Toll Plazas have gone up substantially and are also resulting in the higher collection. This is also facilitating faster movement of traffic at National Highway Toll Plazas. Secretary Road Transport and Highways and Chairman, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) Dr Sukhbir Singh Sandhu also spoke on the occasion.