India is contemplating a shift to usage-based motor insurance tied to digital driving behaviour data, aiming to reward safer drivers and curb the country’s high road accident fatalities, alongside plans for a new FASTag portability scheme.
India is weighing a shift towards usage-based motor insurance that could reward safer drivers with lower premiums, as Union road transport minister Nitin Gadkari set out a broader push to link transport policy with digital systems and road safety reform. Speaking at the Global Fintech Fest in Mumbai, Gadkari said the government is considering a model in which careful driving would cost less, while harsher penalties could apply to repeated rule-breakers and reckless motorists.
The idea would bring India closer to telematics-based cover, under which insurers use data from devices or apps to assess behaviour behind the wheel. The Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner says such policies can track factors including mileage, time of day, hard braking and rapid acceleration to help price cover more precisely and, in some cases, to reward safer habits with lower rates.
Gadkari linked the proposal to India’s severe road safety toll. The Statesman reported that he cited more than 5.13 lakh road accidents in 2025, causing 1.83 lakh deaths, while Economic Times said he pointed to nearly 5 lakh crashes and about 1.80 lakh fatalities a year. He has repeatedly argued that changing driving behaviour, alongside stronger enforcement and better engineering, is central to cutting deaths. Moneycontrol and Business Standard have also reported his warning that overspeeding, drunken driving, helmet violations and seatbelt neglect remain major contributors to the toll.
Alongside the insurance discussion, Gadkari unveiled a new FASTag portability service called “OneTag”. The scheme is intended to let NETC FASTag users shift their tag between banks without replacing it, in the same way a mobile number can be ported between service providers. He also said India’s digital infrastructure, including UPI for payments, Aadhaar for identity, FASTag for mobility and VAHAN for vehicle data, could be linked more closely to create a more intelligent transport ecosystem.
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