India to launch cashless treatment for victims of road accidents

Road, Transport, and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari has announced that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch a cashless medical treatment scheme for victims of road accidents soon. Gadkari said this while addressing a press conference after chairing the 43rd meeting of the Transport Ministers of all states and Union Territories and the Transport Development Council in New Delhi 0n Thursday. The Minister said that the Scheme has been granted statutory status under Section 162 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, providing cashless treatment up to Rs1.5 lakh per victim for a period of up to 7 days from the date of the accident, and is applicable on all roads and in all hospitals across the country. He said, new provision in the Act will prioritise road safety.

रोड सेफ्टी एक्ट में सुरक्षा को प्राथमिकता के लिए नए प्रावधान!#RoadSafety #SadakSurakshaAbhiyaan #सड़कसुरक्षाअभियान pic.twitter.com/06yL5iNZ6G

— Nitin Gadkari (@nitin_gadkari) January 8, 2026

Gadkari said that in case of accidents on any road, the Good Samaritan helping the victim to reach the hospital will be awarded 25 thousand rupees. He said that such good Samaritans will be termed as Rahveers under the scheme. The Minister said that the pilot project of the scheme has recently been successfully concluded in various states and union territories, including Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab and Chandigarh.

He also highlighted the importance of the Bus Body Code, stating that poor bus design has led to at least six major accidents in which 135 people lost their lives. The minister also said existing buses will be equipped with additional safety features, including fire extinguishers, drowsiness detection systems for drivers, and emergency hammers for passengers.

To address the rise in road fatalities and empowering young people to implement and support life-saving road safety measures in their local areas, MoRT&H in collaboration with Ministry of Youth Ffairs and Sports(MoYA&S) has launched this program. Under this initiative, motivated youth volunteers, including graduate engineers, are systematically trained and certified in road safety principles, Safe System approaches, accident hotspot identification, data collection, and basic post-crash assistance, while clearly avoiding legally sensitive roles.