The Government of Puducherry, in collaboration with the Police Department, organized a UT-level workshop on the Integrated Road Accident Database (iRAD)/eDAR platform on 20th March 2025 at Puducherry. The workshop also witnessed the official launch of the Cashless Treatment Scheme for Road Accident Victims by the Honorable Chief Minister of Puducherry.

The inaugural session was graced by DIG Shri P. Sathiyasundaram, IPS, Dr. Ravichandran, Director, Department of Health & Family Welfare Services, Shri V. Kalyana Sundaram, Senior Director (IT), NIC Puducherry, and Shri K. Mohan, Director (IT) and State Coordinator, iRAD, NIC. Following the inauguration, Shri Manikandan, SRM, Puducherry welcomed the dignitaries and participants, setting the tone for the day-long workshop.
Key Technical Sessions:

The first technical session was delivered by Mr. N. Dhanasekar, Director (IT), NIC Chennai, who introduced the Cashless Treatment Scheme of MoRTH, highlighting its seamless integration with the iRAD/eDAR platform via the Trauma Management System (TMS).

This was followed by Mr. Manivasagam, Director (IT), NIC Chennai, who elaborated on the significance of the iRAD/eDAR platform and its integration with key national systems such as CCTNS, VAHAN, SARATHI, DATALAKE, and GATISAKTI, involving stakeholders from the Police, Transport, NHAI, and local administration.

Dr. Pankaj Arora, Director (Convergence), and Ms. Priyanka Gupta from the National Health Authority (NHA), New Delhi, provided detailed insights into the TMS application and explained how Road Traffic Accident (RTA) cases are registered using eDAR integration. They clarified the scheme core benefit: cashless treatment of up to 1.5 lakhs or seven days of in-hospital care, whichever is earlier, to empanelled health facilities treating RTA victims.

Queries raised by the Deputy Director (Family Welfare) and the District Nodal Officer – iRAD/eDAR, Health, regarding treatment packages were addressed during the session.

Further technical demonstrations on the Police, Transport, Health, and Highways modules of the iRAD/eDAR platform were conducted by Mr. Abel Dhansingh, Sr. PSE; Mr. Manikandan, SRM, Tamil Nadu; and Mr. Satheesh Kumar, SRM, Puducherry. These sessions highlighted the functionalities of eDAR forms and module-specific workflows.

Mr. Jijendra Kumar, CGM, NICSI, and Mr. Pawan Gupta, Programme Manager, NICSI Delhi, presented the analytics capabilities of the iRAD/eDAR platform. They showcased grid-based analysis, top accident location mapping, and ambulance deployment strategies based on black spot identification, sharing national best practices.
Valedictory Session & Scheme Launch:

The Hon’ble Chief Minister of Puducherry officially launched the Cashless Treatment Scheme for Road Accident Victims during the valedictory function. He was joined by the Minister for Home, Minister for PWD, and MLA Shri Sambath. Also present were the Secretary (Finance), Secretary (Transport), and the DGP, who all reiterated the importance of multi-agency collaboration to ensure the successful implementation of the scheme and improve road safety outcomes in the UT.

Dignitaries from the National Health Authority (NHA), NICSI, and NIC were felicitated by the Hon’ble Chief Minister in recognition of their contributions.

The event concluded with the National Anthem and a formal vote of thanks by Mr. Praveen Kumar Tripathi, SSP Traffic and Single Point of Contact (SPoC) for iRAD/eDAR in Puducherry.