India got its first toll plaza operated entirely by women on October 2nd, 2012 at the Pimpalgaon–Nashik–Gonde section of NH-3, in Maharashtra. Now, the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), a nodal agency of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways that handles the highway management, is set to launch a new initiative to encourage women into employment. Under the new initiative, the NHAI is going to deploy all-women staff for toll collection in the toll plaza close to city area. The all-women staff will be applicable for the day shift only. This initiative will come into action in all the States and UTs of India (under NHAI’s jurisdiction) on the occasion of International Women’s Day on 8th March 2018.

As of now, the “all-women staff” initiative is in its experimental phase and if it will see the light of success then NHAI will implement the same in all the toll plazas under its jurisdiction, within three months. The communication for the same has been rolled out to all the Regional Officers.

This all-women toll plaza is an attempt by to make the women financially stable since the Government of India is committed towards the noble idea of women empowerment in all spheres. In the quest to achieve this commitment the NHAI, under the shadows of the Indian government, is trying its best to create equal employment opportunities for women.

The NHAI’s idea behind this initiative is to employ women from cities, towns and villages near to the toll plaza for the operations, which will give them an opportunity at their doors and they need not go far from their homes in search of employment. The staff will be receiving sufficient training for their respective roles and duties.

The toll plazas are fully equipped with the Close Circuit Television cameras (CCTVs) and other adequate security measures, which will help in continuously monitoring and controlled access. As currently this initiative is in its experimental phase and once it will be successful, the NHAI will also be installing many other facilities for its women employees, such as well protected pick and drop facility, crèche, and additional security measure for their safety and well being.

The NHAI has already initiated many projects and initiatives to make the National Highways of India top-notch, so they can match the global standards, such as the deployment of Road Marshals, clean toilets, signboards, construction of wayside amenities like Highway Nest (Mini) kiosks, parking spaces and much more near the Toll Plazas. Though these initiatives are for improving the experience of Highway commuters, accommodating the facilities (such as litter bins, toilets, drinking water, ATMs, and coffee/tea vending machines, pre-packaged food items and more) will also help the Toll Plazas employees to have workspace comfort.

The NHAI has been relentlessly working towards the betterment of the Indian Highways and Toll Plazas to make them commuters and employee friendly. These efforts will help India to develop the infrastructure that will be at par with the developed countries of the world. The NHAI has also shown their dedication to achieve the gender-balanced workspaces by implementing this empowering initiative.