'₹1.5 lakh for 7 days': Gadkari announces road accident scheme
What's the story
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has announced a new "cashless treatment" scheme for road accident victims in India. Under the initiative, the government will bear medical expenses up to ₹1.5 lakh for seven days if the incident is reported to the police within 24 hours. In hit-and-run fatalities, an ex gratia payment of ₹2 lakh will be given to the families of the deceased, he said.
Road safety
Gadkari highlights road safety concerns and accident statistics
Gadkari stressed that road safety is the government's top priority, citing shocking statistics from 2024. He said around 1.80 lakh people lost their lives in road accidents last year, with 30,000 deaths due to not wearing helmets. Of this, 66% of these accidents involved people aged between 18 and 34 years.
Infrastructure issues
Inadequate infrastructure near educational institutions raises concerns
The Union minister also highlighted that poor entry and exit arrangements near schools and colleges led to the deaths of 10,000 children. "10,000 children have died due to a lack of proper arrangement at the exit-entry point in front of our schools and colleges," he said. The announcement came after a meeting with transport ministers of different states and union territories at Bharat Mandapam in Delhi on Tuesday.
Policy collaboration
Meeting aims to foster collaboration on transportation policies
The meeting, chaired by Gadkari, was to ensure the union and state governments work together on transportation-related policies. At the meeting, he also spoke about plans to upgrade driving training centers as India faces a shortage of 22 lakh drivers. Further, Gadkari spoke about the scrapping policy for old vehicles, which will give a boost to the automobile sector and create jobs while generating additional GST revenue worth ₹18,000 crore.