India, Aug. 12 -- Ambulances deployed on National Highways will now have to reach accident sites within 10 minutes if the crash occurs within a 10-km radius, under stricter emergency-response norms issued by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).

The new rules put ambulance response, movement and hospitalisation timelines under tighter monitoring, with penalties for delays.

Every minute counts

Under the new service-level benchmarks, an emergency alert must be accepted within one minute, while the ambulance must begin moving within two minutes.

For crashes farther away, the permitted response time will increase proportionately.

The injured person should also reach the nearest hospital within one hour of the emergency alert b...