The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has announced an average 5 per cent increase in toll rates across the country beginning Monday.
The revised rates were initially scheduled to take effect on April 1, but they were deferred due to the Lok Sabha elections.
The annual revision in toll rates aligns with the wholesale price index (CPI)-based inflation and affects around 850 toll plazas.
The user fee is levied according to the National Highways Fee (Determination of Rates and Collection) Rules, 2008. Of these, 675 are public-funded fee plazas, and around 180 are operated by concessionaires.
According to India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra), toll collection growth will likely moderate to 6-7 per cent Y-o-Y in FY25 (FY24: growth of 9-11 per cent Y-o-Y), offset by a subdued wholesale price index.
Increased adoption of FASTag, supported by healthy traffic growth and increase in tolling roads, aided in healthy revenue growth to ₹64,800 crore in FY24 (FY23: ₹48,000 crore), surpassing the government target of ₹55,000 crore. The revenue is estimated to reach ₹70,000 crore in FY25, it added.