Data-driven planning using sources like FASTag, e-way bills and Vahan can change transport governance, but it raises concerns. Discuss.

Every FASTag toll read, e-way bill and Vahan record leaves a digital trace of how goods and people move. In October 2026 the Cabinet approved the Integrated Transport & Logistics Authority (ITLA), which makes this data the basis of planning through a National Transport Data Repository (NTDR) [1]. The promise is real, but so are the risks.

How data can change transport governance

• Evidence-based planning: NTDR pools GSTN e-way bills, FASTag, Vahan and GPS feeds for freight-flow and origin–destination analytics [1]. Corridors can then be sized to actual demand, not ministry estimates.
• Cross-modal choices: One shared data view can show where a rail link beats a wider highway. Rail carries only about 27% of freight, against the National Rail Plan's 45% target by 2030 [2].
• Outcome accountability: ITLA will monitor projects above ₹500 crore and assess their impact after completion [1]. Toll and e-way bill data can show whether the promised traffic and time savings actually came.

Concerns

• Privacy: FASTag and Vahan link vehicles to their owners, so movement data can be used to profile individuals. The Puttaswamy judgment (2017) made privacy a fundamental right and requires any intrusion to be proportionate [3].
• Purpose creep: E-way bill data is collected for tax compliance. Reusing it for planning must respect the purpose-limitation principle of the DPDP Act, 2023 [4].
• Weak legal footing: ITLA is an SPV created by a Cabinet decision, not by an Act [1]. Its data mandate has no statutory limits or oversight.
• Data quality and federal gaps: DPIIT has asked States to improve their data layers on the PM GatiShakti platform [5]. Poor State data would distort a Master Plan meant to last 10 years or more [1].

Way forward

• Anonymise and aggregate data before it enters NTDR, and publish access rules and audit trails.
• Give ITLA a statutory basis once it has proven itself.
• Help States adopt common data standards through the GatiShakti platform [5].

Data-driven planning can move India from ministry-wise guesswork to evidence-based, multi-modal infrastructure. If it is built on privacy by design, legal backing and partnership with States, NTDR can serve Vision 2047 [1] while honouring the Article 21 privacy guarantee.