Prime Minister – Road Accident victims’ Hospitalisation & Assured Treatment-(PM-RAHAT)

1. Hon’ble Prime Minister approved the launch of the PM RAHAT (Road Accident Victim Hospitalization and Assured Treatment) Scheme, on 02.2026 reflecting a governance approach rooted in Seva – service, compassion and protection for vulnerable citizens. The decision underscores the Government’s commitment to ensuring that no life is lost due to lack of immediate medical assistance after a road accident. In accordance with section 162 of the Motor Vehicles (MV) Act, 1988 (“Act”) the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has notified a Cashless Treatment of Road Accident Victims Scheme for the cashless treatment of victims of road accidents caused by the use of motor vehicle(s) on any category of road. The scheme was notified by MoRTH (Administrative Ministry) on 5th May 2025, and the Scheme Guidelines were issued on 4th June 2025.

2. Legal Framework, Notification Issued by MoRTH in May 2025: As per Section 164B of the Motor Vehicles Act, the Central Government is mandated to constitute a Motor Vehicle Accident Fund. This Fund is to be utilized, among other purposes, for providing cashless treatment to road accident victims during the golden hour, as outlined under Section 162. The Fund will serve as a financial mechanism to ensure timely medical care, reduce fatalities, and support emergency treatment costs, including those covered by general insurance companies.
3. Eligibility and Coverage:

      Eligibility: Includes all Indian & Foreign citizens

1. 1. Victim of road accident arising from motor vehicle use on any road.
   2. This Scheme shall take precedence over any other scheme.
   3. Victims hospitalized after 24 hours of accident are not eligible.
   4. The benefits under this Scheme shall take precedence over any other benefit scheme for the same or similar purpose or for medical treatment of the Central Government or the State Government or UT Administration.
   5. Those victims whose first hospitalisation takes place after the lapse of 24 hours from the time of accident shall not be considered eligible under the Scheme.

Coverage: Rs. 1.5 lakhs per victim per episode, for a maximum period of 7 days from date of accident.

4. Role of MoRTH: The administration and implementation of the scheme including notification and amendment through the official Gazette, issue of guidelines and SOP for all the stakeholders, constitution and management of steering committee, and provision of funds in the Motor Vehicle Accident Fund (MVAF) lies within the purview of MoRTH.
5. Implementation of the Scheme:The scheme is being implemented through electronic linkage between accident victim details, designated hospital details and standardised cost of treatment packages leading to timely payment for the cost of treatment to establish a complete digital trail of the treatment being provided under the scheme.
   • The Transaction Management System (TMS) portal of National Health Authority and the Electronic Detailed Accident Report. (e-DAR) application of the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways has been inter-linked through Application Programming interface (API) to provide for seamless transfer of data required for management and administration of the Scheme.

• • The unique identifier of the accident victim in e-DAR i.e. e-DAR Victim ID will be mapped against the unique identifier of a patient in TMS i.e. Patient Registration ID of TMS linked to the designated hospital ID for ensuring that persons who are victims of road accidents can avail treatment.
  • Nodal Agency & Functions of Nodal Agency: The State Road Safety Council (SRSC) is the nodal agency for implementation of the Scheme for that State or Union Territory.
  • It identifies, designates, and publicly lists hospitals whether AB PM-JAY-empanelled or newly selected near accident hotspots capable of emergency and stabilisation care, issues local directives obligating them to treat crash victims, and oversees scrutiny, pre-authorisation and reimbursement of claims through the State Health Agency. Working with police, it confirms accident authenticity via the TMS within set timelines; with ambulance services and ERSS, it strengthens dispatch systems to cut response times; and through SAFU (State Anti-Fraud Unit), it probes suspicious cases and pursues fraud or other irregularities under NHA disciplinary norms. It can take necessary actions to ensure Scheme objectives are met and may escalate issues to the Steering Committee for clarifications.
  • At the district level, the District Road Safety Committees (DRSCs) hold responsibility for monitoring and coordination.

6. NHA Role:  
7. Health Package Development, Empanelment Guideline, Capacity Building, Designs fraud-detection triggers.
8. Technology Interface
   1. IT Platform (TMS), Training & Support, System Integration (PFMS, GIC, DC)
   2. Shares periodic designated hospital lists with the ERSS (Emergency Response Support System) through CDAC
   3. Develop Hospital Empanelment Module for Non-Designated Hospital

• Hospital Reimbursement (issue directions, guidelines, etc., to SHAs on usage for rejection of pre-authorisation and claims)

1. • Others (Call Centre Support)

• • Designated and Non-designated Hospitals:
  • Designated Hospitals: Empaneled hospitals under the AB PM-JAY, are deemed designated. Hospitals which are not empaneled under AB PM-JAY will be designated as per the guidelines and procedure issued by National Health Authority (NHA).
  • Non-Designated Hospitals: Hospitals which are not empanelled under AB PM-JAY and can only provide the stabilization treatment.
  • Role of GIC:

             Claim Settlement The General Insurance Council (GIC) processes hospital reimbursement claims when the offending vehicle has valid third-party insurance. After SHA approves a claim on the TMS, it is forwarded to GIC, which has 10 days to verify the vehicle’s insurance status.

9. Operational support by District Administration:
   1. District Monitoring & Implementation
   2. Police Support & e-DAR Integration

• Victim Assistance & Volunteer Deployment

1. 1. Awareness & Sensitisation

10. Role of DC: Monitor local scheme execution, resolve grievances, coordinate police/ hospitals, and conduct awareness campaigns. For cases involving uninsured vehicles, hit and run incidents, stabilization at non-designated hospitals, or TMS timeouts due to lack of police response, the claim is forwarded to the District Collector (DC) of the accident location. Based on details provided by the SHA on the TMS, the DC approves and processes the payment to the concerned hospital via PFMS.

 

11. Activities completed by NHA:
12. HEM Guidelines: Issued on 20^th May 2025: The guidelines for hospital empanelment specifically for PM-RAHAT Scheme are to be followed in identifying and empanelling other hospitals (not empanelled with AB PMJAY) and which are eligible to provide trauma and polytrauma care.
13. List of AB PMJAY Hospitals shared with CDAC for integration with 112: Shared the list of 18,887 hospitals with CDAC for 112 API integration on 17th June 2025.

• HBP Packages Rationalisation (196 packages including 02 Stabilization packages)

1. • HEM Modules:
   • PM-RAHAT Only – HEM and TMS integration done, Staging environment provided on 16th July, demo done on 17th July.
   • PM-RAHAT Lite – HEM development and TMS integration done.
   • E-DAR integration: e-DAR integration completed.
   • Development of TMS 2.0:
     • GIC-TMS 2.0 integration – Completed on 16th July 2025 and shared with MoRTH for UAT
     • District Collector (DC) -TMS 2.0 integration – Completed on 10th June 2025
     • TMS – PFMS integration – Completed and will be Deployed in Production environment on 20^th 2026 after the sanity check by NHA IT.

 

Beneficiary:

Road Accident Victims

Benefits:

Cashless Treatment: Coverage: Rs. 1.5 lakhs per victim per episode, for a maximum period of 7 days from date of accident.