How to apply for Rashtriya Arogya Nidhi (RAN) — complete 2026 guide

RAN was set up in 1997 by MoHFW with an initial corpus of ₹100 crore, replenished by the Union Budget. Around ₹65-80 crore is sanctioned every year across 2,500-4,000 patients, mostly cancer cases at AIIMS, PGIMER, JIPMER, Tata Memorial, RCC Trivandrum, and the network of 27 Regional Cancer Centres. Two parallel funds operate inside RAN: the main RAN corpus (all major illnesses) and the HMCPF (Health Minister's Cancer Patient Fund) — cancer-specific.

RAN is a need-based, lump-sum, central-government grant for catastrophic illness in poor patients. It is hospital-routed (you cannot apply directly to MoHFW without the treating hospital filing it).

Eligibility:

• Patient must be below poverty line (BPL) — proven by:
  • Antyodaya / Priority Household ration card under NFSA, OR
  • State BPL certificate, OR
  • Annual family income certificate from Tahsildar showing income below the state-level BPL threshold (typically ₹1.2 lakh rural / ₹1.5 lakh urban).
• Treatment must be at a central government hospital OR an empanelled super-specialty / regional cancer institute (full list at https://www.mohfw.gov.in).
• Disease must be life-threatening:
  • Cancer (all types — most common)
  • Organ transplant (kidney, liver, heart, lung)
  • Major cardiac surgery (CABG, valve, congenital)
  • Bone marrow transplant
  • Major neurosurgery (tumour, aneurysm)
  • Spinal cord injury surgery
  • Severe burns
  • Paediatric congenital disorders requiring surgery
• Patient should not have already received Ayushman Bharat / state CMRF / PMNRF beyond what is documented (other sources are deducted from RAN sanction, not blocked).

Maximum sanction:

• Standard RAN cases: up to ₹2 lakh (revolving fund of the hospital — instant; case-by-case)
• Larger cases (more than ₹2 lakh): up to ₹5 lakh with hospital MS recommendation, sanctioned at MoHFW level.
• Catastrophic cases (cancer + transplant): up to ₹15 lakh with strong recommendation + MoHFW Technical Committee approval.

This is non-negotiable. Even if you are BPL with confirmed cancer, RAN doesn't apply if treatment is at a non-empanelled hospital.

• Eligible hospital types:
  • AIIMS (Delhi, Bhubaneswar, Bhopal, Jodhpur, Patna, Raipur, Rishikesh, Nagpur, Mangalagiri, Bibinagar, Bilaspur, Deogarh, Kalyani, Madurai, Rajkot, Vijaypur — verify which are operational at https://aiims.edu)
  • PGIMER Chandigarh, JIPMER Puducherry
  • Tata Memorial Hospital Mumbai + ACTREC Kharghar
  • NIMHANS Bengaluru (neuro), SCTIMST Trivandrum (cardio-neuro)
  • RCC Thiruvananthapuram (Regional Cancer Centre)
  • 27 Regional Cancer Centres across India (Cachar, Bhopal RST, Indore, Hyderabad, Cuttack, Pune, Bengaluru Kidwai, Ahmedabad GCRI, etc. — full list at https://www.mohfw.gov.in)
  • State Cancer Institutes under the Tertiary Care Cancer Centre scheme
• If you are at a non-empanelled hospital, request a referral to the nearest empanelled facility.

This is the most important step. Almost no RAN application succeeds without the hospital's MSW driving it.

• Every empanelled hospital has a Medical Social Worker (MSW) or Welfare Officer specifically tasked with RAN / HMCPF / PMNRF / state CMRF applications.
• At AIIMS Delhi, this is the Department of Hospital Administration / Patient Welfare Section.
• At Tata Memorial, it is the ImPaCCT (Improving Paediatric Cancer Care & Treatment) social work team.
• At PGIMER Chandigarh, the Welfare Officer in Block-A.
• Tell them: “We need to apply for RAN / HMCPF financial assistance”.
• They will give you the proforma specific to that hospital + the document checklist.

• Antyodaya ration card (pink/yellow — varies by state) is the strongest single proof.
• If no Antyodaya card, get a BPL certificate from your Tahsildar / Mandal Revenue Officer.
• Or get a family income certificate showing income below state BPL line — this works at most central institutes.
• Aadhaar cards of patient + applicant.
• Voter ID / domicile certificate of the state you reside in.

• From the HOD of the treating department (e.g., HOD Medical Oncology / HOD Paediatric Oncology / HOD CTVS / HOD Neurosurgery).
• Must state:
  • Diagnosis with ICD-10 code + biopsy / cytology / imaging report numbers
  • Stage of disease (especially for cancer — Stage III/IV cases get higher priority)
  • Recommended treatment protocol (chemo regimen, radiation cycles, surgery type)
  • Itemised cost estimate (drugs, room, consumables, OT charges, tests)
  • Treatment duration
  • Urgency / criticality note (“delay will compromise outcome”)
• On hospital letterhead, signed + stamped by HOD, dated within 30 days.
• For cancer cases, HMCPF specifically requires the Standardised Treatment Protocol to be referenced.

• The hospital MSW prepares the file:
  • Application form (RAN format)
  • BPL / income certificate
  • Aadhaar copies
  • Medical certificate + cost estimate
  • Treatment plan
  • Earlier financial assistance received list (Ayushman Bharat, PMNRF, CMRF, employer)
  • Bank details (for revolving fund credit)
• Medical Superintendent (MS) of the hospital signs the recommendation letter.
• The file is sent to:
  • For cases up to ₹2 lakh: released directly from the hospital's RAN revolving fund (Tata Memorial, AIIMS, PGI, RCC and many central institutes have a pre-funded revolving corpus).
  • For cases ₹2-5 lakh: sent to MoHFW Director (Hospitals) for sanction.
  • For cases above ₹5 lakh: sent to Technical Committee at MoHFW for review.

• Your application has a RAN file number — the MSW will share it.
• Status check via the hospital MSW (they have direct contact at MoHFW).
• MoHFW dispatches sanction order to the hospital — the hospital credits the sanctioned amount to its patient revolving account for treatment.
• Typical processing: 15-90 days depending on amount.
• Emergency cases: hospital can request interim release from revolving fund up to ₹2 lakh while full sanction is processed.

• The sanctioned amount is held in the hospital's RAN revolving account in the patient's name.
• As treatment progresses (chemo cycles, surgery, post-op), the hospital draws down against this corpus.
• No physical cash / DD given to the patient — payment is direct to the hospital.
• Patient gets a utilisation statement every quarter showing balance + drawdown.

• For long protocols (paediatric leukaemia 24-36 months, post-transplant immunosuppression, recurring cancer), the initial sanction may not cover the full duration.
• The hospital MSW can file a top-up application showing actual expenditure + remaining treatment plan + updated estimate.
• Total drawdown across all sanctions for a patient is capped at ₹15 lakh under HMCPF / RAN combined.
• Beyond ₹15 lakh — explore PMNRF, state CMRF, CSR funds (Cipla, Sun Pharma, Tata Trusts), crowdfunding (Ketto, ImpactGuru).

+------------------------------+------------------------------------------+
| Eligibility threshold        | Below Poverty Line (BPL)                 |
| Income proof                 | Antyodaya / NFSA Priority / Tahsildar    |
|                              | BPL certificate / income < state BPL line|
+------------------------------+------------------------------------------+
| Standard sanction (revolving | Up to ₹2 lakh — hospital releases        |
| fund — central institutes)   | directly, instant; no MoHFW step         |
| Mid-tier sanction            | ₹2 - ₹5 lakh — MoHFW Director Hospitals  |
|                              | sanction; 30-60 days                     |
| Catastrophic case sanction   | ₹5 - ₹15 lakh — MoHFW Technical          |
| (HMCPF cancer + transplant)  | Committee review; 45-90 days             |
+------------------------------+------------------------------------------+
| Cancer types covered (HMCPF) | All — leukaemia, lymphoma, solid tumours |
|                              | (breast, lung, oral, colorectal, brain,  |
|                              | bone, paediatric — ALL/AML/Hodgkin etc.) |
| Non-cancer covered (RAN main)| Cardiac surgery, organ transplant,       |
|                              | neurosurgery, paediatric congenital,     |
|                              | major burns, severe trauma surgery       |
+------------------------------+------------------------------------------+
| Treatment location           | AIIMS / PGI / JIPMER / Tata Memorial /   |
|                              | RCC Trivandrum / 27 RCCs / SCIs /        |
|                              | empanelled super-specialty hospitals     |
+------------------------------+------------------------------------------+
| Application fee              | NIL                                      |
| Tax on receipt (recipient)   | NIL (§10(17A))                           |
| Donor benefit (separate)     | 100% deduction §80G                      |
+------------------------------+------------------------------------------+
| RTI to MoHFW (RAN PIO)       | ₹10 by IPO. BPL = free.                  |
+------------------------------+------------------------------------------+

• Treatment at non-empanelled hospital — RAN cannot apply. Get referred to an empanelled institute, or apply for state CMRF instead.
• No BPL proof — income certificate alone (without ration card) sometimes isn't accepted by MoHFW Technical Committee. Get the Antyodaya ration card if eligible (apply via state Food & Civil Supplies portal).
• Hospital welfare officer didn't push the file — many hospitals have understaffed welfare departments. Follow up weekly. Consider escalating to the hospital's Medical Superintendent directly.
• Cost estimate without itemisation — MoHFW Technical Committee rejects unbroken estimates. Push HOD to give detailed line-items.
• Earlier PMJAY exhausted but not declared — RAN deducts PMJAY balance available even if you haven't fully used it.
• Treatment protocol not standard — for cancer, MoHFW prefers NCI / NCG (National Cancer Grid) protocols. Off-protocol treatments need extra justification.
• Patient is a foreign national / OCI — RAN is for Indian citizens only.
• Application sent to MoHFW directly by patient — bypasses the hospital MS step; will be returned. Always go through the hospital MSW.
• Treatment already completed > 6 months ago — RAN is meant for ongoing or imminent treatment. Past expenditure is hard to claim.

• Your first and most-important contact. Visit weekly with the file number.
• They have direct WhatsApp groups / phone lines with MoHFW RAN cell.

• If the MSW's follow-ups aren't working, write to the Medical Superintendent of the hospital with the application file number + dates.
• The MS has authority to escalate to MoHFW Director (Hospitals).

• Section Officer (Hospitals), Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Nirman Bhavan, New Delhi - 110011.
• Email: ran-mohfw@nic.in / hmcpf-mohfw@nic.in
• Phone (MoHFW main): 011-23061863 / 23063221
• Web: https://www.mohfw.gov.in → search “RAN” → “Financial Assistance Schemes”

• https://pgportal.gov.in → “Department of Health & Family Welfare” → DGHS / Hospitals.
• 30-day SLA. Useful audit trail.

• Sitting MPs (especially from the patient's home constituency) can write to the Health Minister directly.
• Health Minister's Office: 011-23063221 / healthminister@nic.in.
• Most MPs respond to constituents on RAN cases — it's politically rewarding.

The MoHFW, AIIMS, PGIMER, JIPMER, Tata Memorial Hospital and all RCCs are public authorities under §2(h) of the RTI Act 2005.

RTI helps here when:

• Your RAN file has been silent for 60+ days at MoHFW — RTI to PIO, Section Officer (Hospitals), MoHFW, Nirman Bhavan, New Delhi - 110011 asking for the file movement, current pending desk, and reason for delay.
• Hospital MSW says “file sent to MoHFW” but no file number — RTI to PIO of the hospital (AIIMS Delhi PIO is in the Director's Office) for the dispatch register.
• Your sanction is less than the estimate — RTI for the Technical Committee minutes that decided your case (note: members' personal opinions may be redacted, but the rationale is RTI-able).
• You suspect the hospital revolving fund balance is being used for non-priority cases ahead of yours — RTI to PIO MoHFW for the hospital-wise revolving fund disbursement register.
• Your sanction order shows a different amount than what was communicated — RTI to PIO MoHFW for the original sanction order.

See: RTI in 12 simple steps.

RTI does NOT help here when:

• You want the sanction increased — discretionary, not RTI matter; appeal via MP / Health Minister.
• You want personal contact details of MoHFW officers — denied under §8(1)(j) personal info.
• You apply RTI within first 30 days of submission — premature; PIO replies “case under processing”.
• You want MoHFW to change the protocol of your treatment — not RTI matter; this is clinical decision, not administrative.
• You want details of other RAN applicants — third-party PII; denied.
• You want the Health Minister's personal note on your file — Cabinet Minister's notings are typically held back under §8(1)(i).

Q. I'm not BPL but struggling with cancer costs. Can I apply?
RAN is strictly for BPL. For above-BPL cancer, look at: state CMRF (₹2-3 lakh, see CMRF medical), PMNRF (income < ₹1 lakh, see PMNRF medical), CSR funds (Cipla, Sun Pharma, ITC, Tata Trusts), crowdfunding (Ketto, ImpactGuru).

Q. RAN at NABH-accredited private hospitals?
Generally no. The hospital must be on the MoHFW RAN-empanelled list, not just NABH. Get referred to Tata Memorial, AIIMS, PGI, JIPMER, RCC Trivandrum, a Regional Cancer Centre or State Cancer Institute.

Q. I have Ayushman Bharat — should I apply RAN too?
Yes. PM-JAY caps at ₹5 lakh / family / year — commonly exhausted in 3-6 months for cancer. RAN supplements after PM-JAY usage is deducted. AIIMS welfare officers manage the sequencing automatically.

Q. Does RAN cover lifelong thalassaemia / haemophilia treatment?
RAN covers acute episodes (transfusion crisis, bleeding, transplant), not lifelong maintenance. For chronic care use NPCDCS, Rare Diseases Policy 2021 (₹50 lakh ceiling at CoEs), or state haemoglobinopathy schemes.

Q. RAN vs HMCPF?
RAN = umbrella scheme for all major-illness BPL patients. HMCPF = cancer-specific sub-corpus at the 27 RCCs + SCIs + central institutes. Eligibility, route and tax treatment are identical — internal MoHFW classification.

Q. Tax?
No tax on receipts under §10(17A). No GST chargeable by the hospital.

Q. Family applies after the patient dies?
Yes, for outstanding hospital bills as on date of death. Submit death certificate + unpaid bill. Excess is not released to family.

Q. Welfare officer demanding an “expediting fee” — legal?
No. RAN is free. Report to Medical Superintendent, file at CVC (https://cvc.gov.in), consider an RTI for the welfare officer's posting + supervisor.

• Apply for PMNRF medical assistance — 2026 guide
• Apply for CM Relief Fund medical assistance — 2026 guide
• Apply for Ayushman Bharat ABHA card — 2026 guide
• Claim CGHS reimbursement — 2026 guide
• RTI in 12 simple steps — for first-time filers
• All Indian government helplines — one master directory
• RTI forms + state-wise fee chart

Last reviewed: 26 April 2026 by RTI Wiki editorial team. RAN sanction patterns and empanelled hospital lists are updated by MoHFW periodically. Verify on https://www.mohfw.gov.in or write to admin@bighelpers.in if you spot a stale figure.