PM RAHAT (Road Accident Victim Hospitalization and Assured Treatment)

Why in the News?

Government has approved the launch of the PM RAHAT scheme.

About the Scheme

• Objective: Ensure timely medical assistance for road accident victims. (Institutionalizing "Golden Hour" Trauma Care).
• Ministry: Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH).
• Cashless Treatment: Up to ₹1.5 lakh per accident victim covered for 7 days from the date of accident.
• Stabilization Treatment: Up to 24 hours (non-life-threatening injuries) and upto 48h (Life-Threatening)
• Eligibility: Applicable to road accident victims on any category of road.
• Funding Mechanism: 
  • Reimbursement to Hospitals: Through the Motor Vehicle Accident Fund (MVAF).
  • Insured vehicles: Paid through contributions from General Insurance Companies.
  • Uninsured / Hit-and-Run cases: Paid through Government of India budgetary allocation.
  • Claim settlement: Approved claims paid within 10 days by the State Health Agency.
• 3 Tier Monitoring and Grievance Redressal
  • National Level: Inter-Ministerial Steering Committee (Policy Implementation)
  • State Level: State Road Safety Council (SRSC) (Nodal Agency)
  • District Level: District Road Safety Committee (DRSC) and a Grievance Redressal Officer nominated by the District Road Safety Committee to handle complaints
• Other: 
  • Integrated with 112 Emergency Response Support System (ERSS): Accident victims or Good Samaritans (Rah-Veer) can call 112 to quickly access the nearest hospital, ambulance support etc.
  • Integration of Electronic Detailed Accident Report (eDAR) platform of the MoRTH with the Transaction Management System (TMS 2.0) of the National Health Authority.

Conclusion

By ensuring that no accident victim is denied life-saving treatment due to financial constraints, PM RAHAT marks a decisive step towards saving lives of road accident victims and strengthening India's emergency care ecosystem.