Lok Sabha Question No. 1008 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-02-05
Subject: Cashless Treatment during Golden Hour
Ministry: ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS
Asked by: Shri Ananta Nayak

## be pleased to state:

- (a)  whether  the  Government  proposes  to  launch  a  nationwide cashless treatment scheme for victims of road accidents covering treatment up to 1.5 lakh during the "Golden Hour", if so the details thereof;
- (b) the details of funding arrangements under the scheme, including coverage through third-party insurance and the Road Safety Fund in cases involving uninsured vehicles;
- (c)  whether  any  incentive  is  proposed  for  Good  Samaritans  who bring  accident  victims  to  hospitals,  and  if  so,  the  details  thereof, and
- (d) the timeline for nationwide rollout of the scheme and the lessons drawn  from  pilot  implementations  in  States/UTs  such  as  Odisha, Assam,  Chandigarh,  Uttar  Pradesh,  Punjab,  Haryana,  Uttarakhand and Puducherry?

## ANSWER

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

- (a)  (b)  &  (d)       Section  162  of  Motor  Vehicles  Act,  1988,  inserted vide Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019, mandates the Central Government  to  formulate  a  scheme  for  the  cashless  treatment  of victims of the accident during the golden hour. Accordingly,

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS

LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO - 1008

ANSWERED ON- 05 TH  FEBRUARY, 2026

## CASHLESS TREATMENT DURING GOLDEN HOUR

## 1008 SHRI ANANTA NAYAK:

## Will the Minister of ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS

सड़क परिवहन औि िाजमार्ग मंत्री

Cashless  Treatment  for  Road  Accident  Victims  Scheme,  2025 (Scheme)  has  been  notified  vide  S.O.  2015(E)  dated  05.05.2025. Further, 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 up to 24 hours in non-lifethreatening  cases  and  up  to  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  scheme  is  jointly  funded  with  contributions  by  General Insurance companies for cases where the offending Motor Vehicle is  insured  and  budgetary  support  for  cases  involving  other  than insured  motor  vehicles.  The  contribution  by  General  Insurance companies is a percentage of the mandatory third-party insurance premium.

To build on-ground readiness across States/UTs and identify potential implementation challenges ahead of the national roll-out, the pilot programme was conducted in six States / UTs -Chandigarh, Assam, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Haryana and Puducherry. Based on the key learnings from this pilot, the Scheme was recast to strengthen  processes,  clarify  roles  and  improve  end-to-end execution.

Key  learnings  included  the  development  of  a  dedicated  Hospital Empanelment  Module  by  NHA,  enabling  any  nearby  hospital  to provide emergency care through stabilisation treatment and subsequently  claim  reimbursement,  irrespective  of  empanelment status. The workflow was redesigned to formally integrate District Collectors and the GI Council into approval, oversight, and escalation  processes,  and  the  State  Road  Safety  Council  was designated as the State-level Nodal Agency responsible for Scheme implementation.  To  address  field  realities,  the  accident  reporting requirement for police response time was relaxed from 3 hours to 24/48  hours,  and  specific  provisions  for  life-threatening  scenarios were incorporated into the guidelines to prioritise immediate care and  flexibility.  For  timely  transfer  of  road  accident  victims  to hospitals,  112  Emergency  Response  Support  System  (ERSS)  was integrated  with  TMS  2.0,  enabling  real-time  identification  of  the nearest  designated hospital and  provision of ambulance services. Coverage was expanded by incorporating ambulance service packages  into  the  Health  Benefit  Packages,  ensuring  support  for transport and emergency stabilisation. The cut-off period for initial admission  was  formally  defined  as  24  hours.  Finally,  to  address jurisdictional  issues,  a  transfer  facility  was  activated  on  eDAR  to enable seamless shifting of case jurisdiction between agencies/regions whenever required for proper case management. The revised scheme would be launched when substantive number of District Collectors/Deputy Commissioners of districts  are  onboarded  on  Public  Financial  Management  System (PFMS) to enable direct payment to hospitals. (c)     Through convergence with 112 (Emergency Response Support System),  the  victim  or  Good  Samaritan  (RAH-VEER)  may  obtain details of the nearest designated hospital and also seek ambulance support. The  Good  Samaritan  scheme  guidelines  (named  as  RahVeer)  provides  for  the  protection  of  Good  Samaritan,  who  in  good faith, voluntarily and without expectation of any reward or compensation  renders  emergency  medical  or  non-medical  care  or assistance at the scene of an accident to the victim or transports such victim to the hospital. As per the scheme, the reward for RahVeer has been fixed to Rs. 25,000/-.

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