Nagpur: Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has unveiled a nationwide cashless treatment initiative aimed at providing essential aid to victims of road accidents.
Speaking at a meeting with state and union territory transport ministers at Bharat Mandapam in Delhi, Gadkari also revealed an ex-gratia payment of ₹2 lakh for families of victims who lose their lives in hit-and-run cases.
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Thursday 09 Jan. 2025
This scheme builds on a pilot program launched on March 14, 2024, by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways in Chandigarh, which has since been expanded to other states.
The pilot program sought to establish a framework for delivering swift medical assistance to vehicle accident victims, particularly during the crucial “golden hour” following an incident. With the scheme now extended to all road accident victims across the country, the government is expected to introduce an updated arrangement by March 2025 to enhance emergency medical response and aid those recovering from accidents.
Key highlights of the initiative:
The Union Minister Gadkari stated that the government would bear the cost of treatment if the police are informed about the accident within 24 hours. He also underlined that the government’s top priority is road safety, citing the alarming statistic that nearly 1.80 lakh people lost their lives in road accidents in 2024. Of these, 30,000 fatalities were due to not wearing helmets, Gadkari added.
“In the meeting, the first priority is for road safety and in the year 2024, 1.80 lakh deaths have occurred in road safety. 30,000 people have died because of not wearing helmets. The second serious thing is that 66% of accidents have occurred in people between the ages of 18 to 34,” Gadkari added.
Gadkari further highlighted the deaths of 10,000 children in road accidents caused by inadequate arrangements at entry and exit points near educational institutions, such as schools and colleges.
1. Cashless treatment coverage:
The program provides health benefit packages for trauma and polytrauma cases to eligible victims at hospitals accredited under the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri-Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY).
Coverage can go up to Rs 1.5 lakh per incident with the treatment period limited to seven days from the date of the accident, and is applicable to all motor vehicle-related road accidents.
2. Implementation mechanism:
The National Health Authority (NHA) will work in collaboration with police, hospitals, and state health authorities to execute the program. Victims can access the scheme through an IT platform that integrates the functionalities of the e-Detailed Accident Report (eDAR) application from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and the NHA’s Transaction Management System.
3. Compensation for families:
In instances of hit-and-run accidents leading to fatalities, the families of victims will be compensated with the payment of Rs 2 lakh.
Future developments:
Additionally, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) recently held a two-day workshop on January 6 and 7, 2025, to address challenges and solutions for promoting advancements in India’s road transport sector.
Furthermore, the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways also launched the “Scheme for Good Samaritan.”
It awards a cash prize of Rs 5000 for each incident, to the good samaritan who, by providing emergency aid and rushing to a hospital or trauma care centre within the Golden Hour of the accident to administer medical treatment, saved the life of a victim of a fatal accident involving a motor vehicle.
