Every year, road crashes in India leave thousands of families shattered — often not because treatment is unavailable, but because the “golden hour” slips away amid payment haggling or bystander hesitation.
The Centre has now stepped in decisively. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has cleared the PM RAHAT (Road Accident Victim Hospitalisation and Assured Treatment) scheme, guaranteeing cashless treatment up to ₹1.5 lakh for seven days from the date of the accident on any road — national highway, state road or city street.
Key features:
Stabilisation: 24 hours (non-life-threatening) / 48 hours (life-threatening), subject to digital police authentication.
Dial 112 — the victim, bystander or Good Samaritan (“Rahveer”) can call the nearest empanelled hospital and ambulance arrive without delay.
No legal harassment for helpers; no out-of-pocket expense for victims.
Fully digital backbone: MoRTH’s eDAR + NHA’s TMS 2.0 ensures accident report → hospital admission → treatment → claim → payment (within 10 days) flows seamlessly.
Funding: Motor Vehicle Accident Fund / insurance companies / central budget (hit-and-run or uninsured cases).
Grievance redressal: District Road Safety Committee under District Collector.
Health data is clear: Timely hospitalisation in the golden hour can avert nearly 50% of road deaths. PM RAHAT removes the two biggest killers — money and fear.
Implementation challenges remain: Hospital empanelment, 112 response time, and police verification speed. Yet, if executed well, the scheme could mark India’s biggest leap in emergency trauma care since the Motor Vehicles Act amendments.