Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari announced the "Rahveer" scheme to reward citizens who rescue road-accident victims.
The initiative aims to reduce road-traffic fatalities by incentivizing the "golden hour" response, where immediate intervention often determines survival. By encouraging bystanders to act, the government seeks to bridge the gap between the moment of impact and professional medical arrival.
Under the new program, members of the public who assist in rescuing accident victims will be eligible for a reward of ₹25,000 [1]. Gadkari said the government is targeting the rescue of 50,000 individuals annually through this increased public participation [3].
To ensure that financial barriers do not prevent critical care, the government is also providing cashless medical treatment for accident victims. This coverage extends up to ₹1.5 lakh [2].
Speaking at a Rapido event and a press briefing in New Delhi, Gadkari said the program is designed to shift public behavior toward active assistance. He said, "If people step in to rush these 50,000 individuals to the hospital, their lives can be saved; we call such lifesavers 'Rahveers'" [2].
The minister said that improving road safety remains a significant challenge for the country. He identified changing public behavior, and the enforcement of traffic norms, as the primary obstacles to reducing deaths on the highway.
"Road safety is a shared responsibility and citizen's participation is critical in reducing fatalities on India's roads," Gadkari said [4].
“"Road safety is a shared responsibility and citizen's participation is critical in reducing fatalities on India's roads."”
The Rahveer scheme represents a strategic shift toward crowdsourcing emergency response in India. By combining a direct financial incentive for rescuers with a cashless treatment guarantee, the government is attempting to overcome the 'bystander effect' and the fear of legal or financial repercussions that often deter witnesses from helping accident victims. If successful, this model could significantly lower the national mortality rate for road accidents by accelerating the transition from the crash site to the hospital.
