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India's rising road deaths, but only 813 Good Samaritan awardees

India's rising road deaths, but only 813 Good Samaritan awardees
India’s road deaths rise, but Good Samaritan scheme sees only 813 awardees in five years · indianexpress.com

In India, when people get hurt in road accidents, they sometimes need help to get to a hospital quickly.

The government started a special program in 2021 to thank "Good Samaritans" — kind people who help injured people get to a hospital fast.

If a helper brings an accident victim to the hospital within the first hour, called the "Golden Hour", they can get a reward of 25,000 rupees.

But in five years, only 813 people received this reward.

That is a very small number, because every year many people die in road accidents in India — about 177,000 in 2024 alone.

Many people are scared to stop and help because they worry the police or hospital will ask them lots of questions and make them fill out forms.

The government wants more people to know about the reward and is trying to spread the word.

The Supreme Court also told states to set up ways to protect helpers from trouble.

But most states have been very slow to do this.

Helping someone who is hurt is very important, and the government hopes more people will become Good Samaritans.

Key facts

Scheme
Good Samaritan (Raah-Veer) award scheme
Launch
October 2021 by MoRTH
Reward
Rs 25,000 (raised from Rs 5,000)
Total awardees (2021-22 to 2025-26)
813
Participating states/UTs
15 states and 2 Union territories
Road accident deaths in 2024
1.77 lakh (up 2.31% from 1.73 lakh in 2023)
Top awarding state
Rajasthan (224 awardees)
Extension
2026-27 to 2030-31, with an initial grant of Rs 25 lakh to states

Sources

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