'Saved My Grandma's Life': Delhi Man Shares Blinkit Ambulance Reached Home In 8 Minutes

A Blinkit ambulance reached a Delhi man's home within just eight minutes and helped rush his critically ill grandmother to the emergency ward has caught the attention of Zomato founder and CEO Deepinder Goyal. The heartwarming account has also sparked a discussion about the ambulance service's pricing policy, with the company introducing a Rs 2,500 charge for non-emergency transfers while keeping emergency rides completely free.

Sparsh Sehgal, a Delhi-based X user, revealed how the quick response from Blinkit's ambulance service proved crucial when his grandmother's health suddenly deteriorated. He said the ambulance arrived at his doorstep within eight minutes and helped transport her to the emergency ward without delay.

Sehgal expressed gratitude towards the team, saying he doubted whether even a hospital ambulance could have responded so quickly.

“Blinkit ambulance saved my grandma's life today,” he wrote, thanking the service for its timely intervention.

Blinkit ambulance saved my grandma's life today.

Things went south suddenly, but they reached home in 8 minutes and drove her to the emergency ward promptly.

Forever grateful. No hospital ambulance could have managed this response time.

— Sparsh Sehgal (@sparsh_sehgal) November 4, 2026

Responding to the post, Deepinder Goyal shared insights into the ambulance service's journey, its growing demand and the reasons behind the latest pricing decision. He described Blinkit Ambulance as an extension of the service-oriented philosophy that inspired him to establish Zomato.

“In the last 2 years, we have served ~20,000 emergency cases (~42,000 cases in total). We haven't charged a single rupee for any of them. And we want to keep it that way,” Goyal wrote.

I started Zomato with a spirit of service. Blinkit Ambulance is what that spirit of service looks like today.

In the last 2 years, we have served ~20,000 emergency cases (~42,000 cases in total). We haven't charged a single rupee for any of them. And we want to keep it that way.

With everything free, a growing share of bookings are for routine checkups, hospital visits and hospital-to-home transfers, trips that an Uber or private transport could have handled just as easily. Every such booking keeps a fully equipped emergency ambulance with paramedics off the road when someone's life may depend on it.

So we are making a change from now onwards: Emergency transfers – free, as always. Non-emergency transfers – ₹2,500, charged after the trip. Broadly in line with what private ambulances charge. This money goes to Eternal Foundation, which runs these ambulances and will help us scale them even further.

We hope that this charge will dramatically drop the usage of our Ambulances for non-emergency cases. 10-minute ambulances have saved and can save thousands of lives, and we need to keep them available for emergencies that need them the most.

One more thing. Scaling high quality ambulances is hard. The biggest bottleneck is trained, empathic paramedics. Our training academy is scaling as fast as we can without compromising on quality, and @albinder and team are committed to bringing Blinkit Ambulance to all major cities in India in the next 2-4 years.

Stay well, and I pray you don't need us. @sparsh_sehgal – I wish your grandma a speedy recovery, and I am so glad we were able to be there on time.

— Deepinder Goyal (@deepigoyal) November 5, 2026

Blinkit Ambulance to charge Rs 2,500 for non-emergency trips amid misuse

The Zomato CEO pointed out that the free ambulance service was increasingly being used for non-emergency requirements, including routine medical checkups, hospital appointments and transfers from hospitals to homes.

According to Goyal, many of these journeys could have been managed through regular private transport. Instead, fully equipped emergency ambulances and trained paramedics were being occupied by such requests, potentially affecting their availability during critical situations.

To address the issue, Goyal announced a revised pricing structure under which emergency ambulance transfers will continue to be completely free, while non-emergency trips will attract a charge of Rs 2,500, payable after the journey. He added that the amount was broadly comparable to private ambulance charges and would be directed towards the Eternal Foundation, which operates the ambulance service.

“We hope that this charge will dramatically drop the usage of our Ambulances for non-emergency cases,” he said, underlining the importance of keeping the 10-minute ambulance service accessible to people facing genuine medical emergencies.

Goyal also highlighted the challenges of expanding the initiative across the country, particularly the limited availability of trained and compassionate paramedics. He said the company's training academy was scaling up its operations while maintaining quality standards.

He further revealed that Albinder and his team were working towards expanding Blinkit Ambulance to all major Indian cities over the next two to four years.

Wishing Sehgal's grandmother a speedy recovery, Goyal said he was relieved that the ambulance team had managed to reach her in time.