Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari announced exciting news on Tuesday! The government will soon provide cashless medical treatment for road accident victims all over India. This follows successful tests in six states. Gadkari also revealed a new driver training policy that encourages setting up schools to train drivers, aiming to reduce accidents caused by tired drivers.
At a workshop with state transport leaders, Gadkari shared that over 480,000 road accidents happened in India this year, leading to about 178,000 deaths. To help, he urged states to work with the National Health Authority so victims can get cashless treatment quickly, helping to save lives. The new plan allows victims to receive cashless treatment for seven days or up to ₹1.5 lakh ($1,800), and families of those who die in hit-and-run accidents will receive ₹2 lakh ($2,400).
Gadkari also discussed the importance of vehicle scrapping programs and Automated Testing Stations. He mentioned that these programs would benefit the car industry and add ₹18,000 crore ($2.4 billion) to GST tax collections.
To improve driver training, the government plans to invest ₹4,500 crore ($540 million) to create 1,250 driving schools in India. With the growing demand for e-rickshaws, Gadkari announced that a new star rating system will be introduced to ensure their quality, similar to car safety ratings. This system will help keep prices steady and improve the quality of e-rickshaws made in India.