India, Oct. 4 -- To speed up the adoption of digital payments at toll plazas in the country, the Centre said that vehicles without a valid or functional FASTag entering user fee plazas will face a steeper penalty for cash payments.

In a statement, the ministry of road transport and highways said that, under the new rules, non-FASTag users will be charged twice the applicable user fee if the payment is made in cash, but those opting for the Unified Payment Interface (UPI) will pay only 1.25X the standard fee for their category.

For instance, if the standard toll for a vehicle using a FASTag is INR 100, the fee rises to INR 200 if settled in cash, but only INR 125 when paid via UPI. The change is made by amending the National Highways Fee...