In a major boost for daily highway commuters, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is set to roll out the FASTag Annual Pass starting August 15, 2025. This new initiative is aimed at making travel more convenient and economical for frequent travelers on India's National Highways and Expressways.

What is the FASTag Annual Pass?

The FASTag Annual Pass is priced at Rs 3,000 and offers 200 toll-free trips or one year of validity—whichever comes first. This pass is available exclusively for private non-commercial vehicles like cars, jeeps, and vans. Once the pass is activated, users will be able to travel seamlessly at designated National Highway (NH) and National Expressway (NE) toll plazas without being charged per trip.

How to Activate It?

The pass can be activated only through the Rajmargyatra mobile app or the official NHAI website. Activation will be granted post vehicle eligibility verification through the VAHAN database. Once verified, users must pay Rs 3,000 for the base year 2025–26. After successful payment, the annual pass is linked to the registered FASTag and becomes active within 2 hours.

Key Rules & Validity

• The pass is valid for 12 months or 200 transactions, whichever is earlier.

• It is not valid at toll plazas on state highways, expressways operated by local bodies, or parking lots. At such places, the FASTag will behave like a regular tag, and normal user fees will apply.

• If used in a commercial vehicle, the pass will be deactivated immediately without any notice.

Understanding Trip Count

• Point-based plazas: Each pass through the plaza counts as one trip; round-trips count as two.

• Closed tolling system (with entry & exit): One entry-exit pair counts as a single trip.

Who is Eligible?

Only private, non-commercial vehicles—cars, jeeps, and vans—are eligible for this annual pass. The eligibility will be validated against the VAHAN vehicle registration database.

In short, this new move will be a big relief for daily highway commuters, offering cost savings, ease of travel, and fewer payment stops. So if you’re a frequent traveler, get your FASTag Annual Pass activated before hitting the road this Independence Day!

India’s premier B2B travel networking event, India International Travel Mart (IITM), completed impactful editions in Chennai (16–18 July) and Bangalore (24–26 July) 2025, reinforcing its reputation as South India’s biggest travel exhibition and a catalyst for domestic and international tourism promotion.

Now in its 26th year in these cities, IITM brought together a diverse mix of tourism boards, DMCs, hotel groups, airlines, travel startups, and technology platforms. Over three days at each venue, the exhibitions enabled immersive trade engagement, destination showcases, and high-value networking opportunities.

High-Profile Participation

The Chennai edition, hosted at Chennai Trade Centre, was inaugurated by Thiru T. Christuraj, Director of Tourism, Government of Tamil Nadu. Dignitaries included:

• Sri Venkatesan D, Regional Director, India Tourism

• Smt. T. Devaki, Chairperson, Travel Agents Association of India

• Sri Kamaleshwaran, President, SKAL International, Chennai

• Sri Pankaj Ravish, General Manager, IRCTC

• Sri Pawan Kumar Gupta, Vice President, SIMA

• Sri Ashok Kumar P, Chairman, ADTOI

The Bangalore edition, held at Tripura Vasini, Palace Grounds, was inaugurated by Shri Pasang Dorjee Sona, Hon’ble Minister for Tourism, Arunachal Pradesh. Guests of Honor included:

• Sri Neelu Sharma, Chairman, Chhattisgarh Tourism

• Sri Ranphoa Ngowa, Secretary Tourism, Arunachal Pradesh

• Sri Vivek Acharya, MD, Chhattisgarh Tourism

• Mr. Hishamuddin Mustafa, Director, Tourism Malaysia Chennai

• Sri Biswajit Routray, Additional Director, Odisha Tourism

• Sri Dinesh Kumar, Joint Director, UP Tourism

• Sri Lokesh Bettaiah, VP, TAAI

• Sri Niranjan Bhargava, Chairman, TAAI

• Mr. M. Vinod, President, AATO

• Mr. Kaulesh Kumar, General Secretary, ABTO

• Mr. Amish Desai, MC Member, TAAI

Industry Leaders Weigh In

Mr. Sanjay Hakhu, Director, Sphere Travelmedia & Exhibitions, said:

“Both editions exceeded expectations in terms of participation, partnerships, and buyer engagement. The enthusiasm from India’s domestic and outbound tourism stakeholders is encouraging as we push toward broader industry resurgence.”

Mr. Rohit Hangal, Director, Sphere Travelmedia & Exhibitions, added:

“Chennai and Bangalore remain integral to India’s tourism landscape. The enthusiasm, scale, and trade engagement at IITM reaffirm its role as a strategic B2B platform.”

By the Numbers

• 25+ Indian states represented

• 20+ international tourism boards

• 800+ exhibitors

• Thousands of B2B meetings and interactions across both cities

Why IITM Matters

For over 20 years, IITM has built a legacy as one of India’s most credible and business-focused travel trade shows. It uniquely connects travel products with decision-makers through:

• Dedicated B2B focus

• Themed pavilions: luxury travel, tech, sustainable tourism

• Launchpad for destinations and services

• South India’s largest travel trade shows

What’s Next?

Following Chennai and Bangalore, the upcoming editions of IITM promise more robust business opportunities:

• Delhi: 24 – 26 September 2025

• Mumbai: 9 – 11 October 2025

• Pune: 27 – 29 November 2025

• Hyderabad: 4 – 6 December 2025

• Kochi: 8 – 10 January 2026

• Kolkata: 12 – 14 February 2026

• Ahmedabad: 12 – 14 March 2026

With an unwavering commitment to connect, collaborate, and catalyze tourism growth, IITM remains the gold standard for India’s travel trade engagement.

For more information, contact: +91 8040834100
Email: media@spheretravelmedia.com

The long-awaited inauguration of the upgraded terminal at Thoothukudi airport has been widely welcomed by local industry bodies, who see it as a game-changer for the region’s industrial and cargo logistics landscape. Scheduled to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 26, the new terminal, alongside an extended runway and night landing facilities, marks a major milestone for southern Tamil Nadu’s infrastructure growth.

Industrial stakeholders have expressed optimism about the development, stating that the enhanced facilities will provide a significant boost to business operations, cargo movement, and travel convenience for entrepreneurs, industrialists, and the public from both Thoothukudi and Tirunelveli districts. The airport’s strategic location between these two growing urban clusters adds further relevance to the upgrade.

D.R. Kodeeswaran, President of the Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Thoothukudi, highlighted the city’s rapid emergence as a top investment destination in the region. He underlined several ambitious projects in the pipeline, including the outer harbour development of V.O. Chidambaranar Port, ISRO’s upcoming rocket launch site at Kulasekarappatinam, a new furniture park in the SIPCOT industrial estate, and the Vietnamese auto giant VinFast’s new manufacturing plant.

He also called for improved air connectivity to major cities such as Hyderabad, Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Kochi. At present, only IndiGo and SpiceJet operate from Thoothukudi, and Kodeeswaran emphasized the need for more airlines to consider operations to and from the region. Notably, the airport has already recorded a 15.2% growth in passenger traffic in 2024-2025 compared to the previous year, reflecting increasing demand.

Echoing similar sentiments, R. Edwin Samuel, Former Chairman of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Thoothukudi, stressed the need to elevate the airport to international status to allow flights to international destinations like Male, Colombo and Dubai. He remarked that the timing of the terminal’s inauguration aligns well with Thoothukudi’s rise as a spiritual tourism hub and its growing relevance to regional industrial development.

He also added that as the SIPCOT hub in nearby Gangaikondan prepares to welcome several prominent companies, robust air connectivity would play a critical role in sustaining and accelerating the region’s industrial growth trajectory.