Lok Sabha Question No. 205 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-01-29
Subject: Cashless Treatment to Road Accident Victims
Ministry: ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS
Asked by: Shri Dhairyasheel Sambhajirao Mane, Shri Sudheer Gupta, Shri Chavan Ravindra Vasantrao

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 205

ANSWERED ON 29 th  January, 2026

## Cashless Treatment to Road Accident Victims

## 205.  Shri Chavan Ravindra Vasantrao:

Shri Sudheer Gupta:

Shri Dhairyasheel Sambhajirao Mane:

Will the Minister of ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS

सड़क परिवहन औि िाजमार्ग मंत्री

## be pleased to state:

- (a)  whether  the  Government  has  any  proposal  to  introduce  a nationwide  cashless  treatment  scheme  for  road  accident  victims across the country;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c) the salient features of the proposed scheme including eligibility, coverage amount, duration of treatment and categories of hospitals to be empanelled;
- (d) The time by which it is likely to be rolled out and the manner in which the scheme will be funded and implemented by the Government;
- (e) whether the government proposes to link the existing insurance, motor  vehicle  compensation  mechanisms  or  schemes  such  as Ayushman  Bharat  with  the  said  scheme  and  if  so,  the  details thereof; and
- (f) the measures taken to ensure timely admission, quality treatment,  reimbursement  to  hospitals  and  awareness  among  the general public about the scheme?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS (SHRI NITIN JAIRAM GADKARI)

- (a) to (d) In accordance with the legal mandate under Section 162 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, Cashless Treatment for Road Accident Victims  Scheme,  2025  has  been  notified  vide  S.O.  2015(E)  dated 05.05.2025.  Furthermore,  comprehensive  guidelines  detailing  the process flow, roles and responsibilities of various stakeholders, and the  Standard  Operating  Procedures  (SOPs)  for  its  implementation have been issued vide S.O. 2489 (E) dated  04.06.2025.

## Key features of the scheme are as under:

- (i)  Treatment  cover  up  to  Rs.  1.5  lakh  per  victim  will  be provided,  subject  to  a  maximum  cap  of  7  days  from  date  of accident.  The  treatment  cover  will  be  available  to  those victims who are involved in road accidents caused by use of motor vehicles across any category of road.
- (ii) Every motor vehicle road accident victim shall be provided with  stabilization  treatment  for  upto  24  hours  in  non-lifethreatening cases and upto 48 hours in life- threatening cases at designated hospitals, subject to police response.
- (iii) This statutory scheme will take precedence over any other Central / State level schemes.
- (iv) The Scheme is being implemented through the amalgamation of two existing platforms, i.e. eDAR (electronic Detailed Accident Report) used by Police officials for reporting of  accidents  and TMS 2.0 (Transaction Management System) of  National  Health  Authority  (NHA)  used  by  hospitals  for treatment, claim submission and processing of payments.
- (v)  The  reimbursement  to  hospitals  is  being  done  through Motor Vehicle Accident Fund (MVAF) which is funded through contributions  from  General  Insurance  companies  for  cases

where  the  offending  Motor  Vehicle  is  insured  and  through budgetary support for other-than-insured cases.

- (vi)  As  per  the  Scheme  guidelines notified  vide  S.O.  2489  (E) dated  04.06.2025,  hospitals  empanelled  under  the  Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) shall be automatically  deemed  designated  hospitals  for  the  purposes of the Scheme. Further, NHA has issued detailed guidelines for designating and onboarding of additional hospitals by States & UTs vide OM S-12018/81/2024 dated 20 May 2025.
- (e) The Scheme is being implemented through the amalgamation of two  existing  platforms,  i.e.  eDAR  and  TMS  2.0.  The  third  party insurance status of the offending vehicle is captured on eDAR as it is integrated with VAHAN Portal.

The Government of India is already implementing a separate Compensation to Victims of Hit and Run Motor Accidents Scheme with effect from 01.04.2022. Under this Scheme, a fixed sum of Rs. 2  lakh  is  to  be  provided  in  case  of  death,  and  a  fixed  sum  of  Rs. 50,000 is to be provided in case of grievous hurt. The compensation is provided to the victims of Hit & Run motor accident as per a time- bound procedure defined under the Scheme.

It  may  be  noted  that  Ayushman  Bharat  Pradhan  Mantri  Jan Arogya  Yojana  (AB  PM-JAY)  is  a  benefit-based  health  insurance scheme,  under  which  beneficiaries  are  identified  in  advance.  In contrast, the Cashless Treatment for Road Accident Victims Scheme, which is a statutorily mandated scheme under Section 162 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 in which any road accident victim caused by use of motor vehicle on any category of road can be a beneficiary.

- (f) To ensure that the road accident victim reaches the designated hospital within golden hour, integration with 112 Emergency Response Support System (ERSS) has been ensured. 112 operator guides victim to the nearest designated hospital and also provides facility of ambulance, if required.

The Treatment is provided to victims as  per standard Health Benefit  packages of  NHA. Once the victim is discharged from the Scheme,  the  hospital  will  have  to  submit  the  claim  along  with necessary documents to State Health Agency (SHA). The claim will be verified and approved by the SHA. To ensure timely payments to hospitals, a period of 10 days has been defined from  the  claim  being  approved  by  SHA  for  District  Collectors  or General Insurance Council to make the payments to the concerned hospitals, as the case maybe. A complete digital trail for the Scheme will exist from the time of  accident  reporting  through  the  112  ERSS  platform  to  victim admission,  treatment,  police  authentication,  claim  processing  and final payment. Besides sensitizing the States/UTs, the Sadak Suraksha Abhiyan has been launched through Central Bureau of Communication  to  create  awareness  on  programs  and  policies including the Scheme.

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