The rapid growth in the economy and social development has led to the requirement for road networks in India. India stands at the second position in terms of the length of the road network with more than 5.89 million km length of the road network. This road network transports 64.5% of all goods in the country and 90% of India's total passenger traffic uses the road network to commute.

Currently, the toll payment at toll plazas is either through cash or through Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) mode. This ETC mode is enabled by RFID based technology, wherein, an RFID sticker (FASTag) is affixed to the windshield of the vehicle, and it is read by an RFID reader equipment installed at the toll plazas. This toll design is incidence-based tolling where vehicles end up paying toll fares only if they cross a physical toll plaza. In today’s scenario when the businesses are going global and the demand and supply ratio is at a staggering high, the increase in the number of vehicles is not surprising. No doubt that the highway networks are becoming increasingly busier, causing frequent disruption to traffic, especially on highly congested networks.

To address the above problems, IHMCL is exploring the option of a barrier-less free-flow system and Intelligent Traffic Management System in India. The objective of the barrier-less free-flow tolling system is to enable vehicles to cruise through highways without the need to slow down/stop at any tolling points based on the “Pay-as-you-use” concept. It is also envisaged to make National Highways smarter with the implementation of world-class Intelligent Traffic Management systems/solutions to improve the flow of vehicle traffic along with the safety of road users.

With a view to leveraging the innovations by the Indian entrepreneurs and in line with the mission of Digital India, Indian Highways Management Company Limited (IHMCL) seeks to organize Hackathon with Indian start-ups and premier Institutions for cost-effective smart tolling solutions-based barrier-less free-flow tolling system and Intelligent Traffic Management System.

For more information about the challenge visit: https://app.thebizplanner.com/public/application/inc/6246abd3dca42df2f91cf5b2
Last date to apply for the challenge is 30th April 2022.