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PM-RAHAT, the Road Accident Victims' Hospitalisation and Assured Treatment scheme, was launched nationwide on 13 February 2026 under Section 162 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.
It provides treatment cover of up to Rs 1.5 lakh per victim, capped at seven days from the date of the accident, on any category of road.
As on 31 July 2026, 22,481 victims across 34 States and UTs had been covered, with 18,149 cases approved.
State Health Agencies approved claims of Rs 12.59 crore, of which Rs 10.56 crore has been paid to hospitals.
Hospitals empanelled under Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY that comply with National Health Authority guidelines are deemed designated hospitals under the scheme.
The Golden Hour is a clinical concept given statutory definition in Indian law: the period of up to one hour following a traumatic injury during which prompt medical care has the highest likelihood of preventing death. The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019 wrote this into the parent Act and, through Section 162, required the Central Government to frame a scheme for cashless treatment of road accident victims during the Golden Hour. The reason a scheme was necessary rather than simply an instruction to hospitals is money and liability. A hospital receiving an unidentified accident victim faces uncertainty about who will pay, and about whether treating the case will draw it into police procedure — an uncertainty that has historically produced refusals and delays at exactly the moment when minutes matter. PM-RAHAT resolves that by making the payment assured up front: a defined cover of Rs 1.5 lakh for up to seven days, claims processed through State Health Agencies, and any AB PM-JAY empanelled hospital complying with NHA guidelines deemed a designated hospital, so the network already exists on day one. The 2019 amendment also inserted Section 134A protecting Good Samaritans from civil or criminal liability for helping an accident victim, removing the other classic deterrent. The scheme's design also shows in its data: of 22,481 cases, 3,674 were discharged from the scheme because the police did not respond within the prescribed timelines, which is a measurable indicator of where the process still breaks down.
Simple Analogy: The law had already said that accident victims must be treated first and paid for later; PM-RAHAT is the standing account that makes 'paid for later' credible enough that the hospital does not hesitate.
Reduce road accident fatalities by guaranteeing timely and uninterrupted medical care, including during the Golden Hour
Key: Cover of up to Rs 1.5 lakh per victim for a maximum of seven days from the date of the accident, available on any category of road to any victim of an accident caused by the use of a motor vehicle. Notified vide S.O. 2489 (E) dated 4 June 2025 and launched nationwide on 13 February 2026
Ensure a ready network of treating hospitals from day one
Key: Hospitals empanelled under Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana that comply with the National Health Authority's guidelines for this scheme are deemed designated hospitals; States and UTs may onboard additional hospitals under NHA guidelines dated 20 May 2025
Make refusal of admission or treatment actionable
Key: Denial amounts to non-compliance with scheme provisions; States and UTs may act under the Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Act, 2010 or corresponding State laws, and empanelment guidelines allow disciplinary proceedings, suspension and de-empanelment
Get the victim to a designated hospital inside the Golden Hour
Key: A victim or Good Samaritan dialling 112 can obtain details of the nearest designated hospital and request ambulance support
Establish that a case qualifies as a motor vehicle accident
Key: Cases marked life-threatening by hospital administration remain eligible for treatment until the police reject them on the e-DAR platform or 48 hours elapse, whichever is earlier
Provides for a scheme for the cashless treatment of road accident victims, including during the Golden Hour; PM-RAHAT is framed under this mandate
Introduced the statutory definition of the Golden Hour, strengthened Section 162, and inserted Section 134A protecting Good Samaritans from civil and criminal liability for assisting accident victims
Created under the 2019 amendment to provide compulsory insurance cover to all road users, funding treatment under the golden hour scheme and compensation in hit-and-run cases
The notification setting out PM-RAHAT's scheme guidelines
The law, along with corresponding State legislation, under which States may act against hospitals that deny admission or treatment under the scheme
Owns PM-RAHAT and notified its guidelines under Section 162 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988
Issues the guidelines with which designated hospitals must comply and administers the AB PM-JAY empanelment framework on which PM-RAHAT's hospital network rests
Process and approve claims raised by hospitals; had approved Rs 12.59 crore and paid Rs 10.56 crore as on 31 July 2026
The single emergency number through which a victim or Good Samaritan can find the nearest designated hospital and obtain ambulance support
India's commitment to halve road accident deaths underlies the entire policy push behind the 2019 amendment and PM-RAHAT
Section 134A, inserted by the 2019 amendment, shields bystanders from civil and criminal liability — the legal counterpart to a scheme that assures payment for treatment
PM-RAHAT rides on the AB PM-JAY empanelment network and NHA guidelines, an example of one scheme reusing another's institutional infrastructure rather than building afresh
The Centre notifies the scheme while State Health Agencies process claims and State police verify eligibility on e-DAR — a three-way division that the 3,674 discharges for police non-response expose as the weak link
The Supreme Court has long held that a hospital cannot refuse emergency treatment to an accident victim; PM-RAHAT gives that principle a funding mechanism and an enforcement route under clinical establishment laws
GS Paper 2 > Governance > Government Policies and Interventions for Vulnerable Sections
General Awareness > Government Schemes and Acts
General Awareness > Current Affairs and Transport Policy
Road safety law and the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019 recur in UPSC Prelims and SSC general awareness
Road Accident Victims' Hospitalisation and Assured Treatment scheme, launched nationwide on 13 February 2026 under Section 162 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988
The period of up to one hour following a traumatic injury during which prompt medical care has the highest likelihood of preventing death; defined statutorily by the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019
A hospital deemed eligible to treat under PM-RAHAT — including AB PM-JAY empanelled hospitals complying with NHA guidelines, plus additional hospitals onboarded by States
The electronic Detailed Accident Report platform on which police record and verify road accident cases; a life-threatening case remains eligible until rejected on e-DAR or 48 hours elapse
A bystander who voluntarily assists an accident victim; Section 134A of the Motor Vehicles Act protects such a person from civil or criminal liability