Insights · Accreditation
NABH is now empanelling accreditation consultants. Here's the benchmark it published.
The MITRA Empanelment Programme sets eligibility criteria, a code of conduct, and a ₹10,000 per-visit reference price. For the first time there is something to compare a consultant's quote against.
NABH has historically been unambiguous that it neither provides consultancy nor empanels anyone to do so. That position changed this year.
A concept note dated 2 June 2026 sets out the MITRA Empanelment Programme — a formal framework to empanel consultants who help hospitals achieve accreditation, certification and digital transformation, explicitly aimed at Tier 2, 3 and 4 cities. Applications for the round closed on 15 July 2026.
What it sets out
- Organisational MITRA — a legally registered entity, at least one year of operations, at least two NABH-certified professionals, and at least three hospitals already taken through accreditation or certification. Empanelment fee ₹50,000 + GST, valid three years.
- Individual MITRA — valid PAN, one NABH-certified professional, at least one hospital completed. Empanelment fee ₹20,000 + GST.
- Training: ₹25,000 + GST for the five-day MITRA course, ₹15,000 + GST for the three-day Digital MITRA course.
- A hospital consultation package of ₹10,000 plus taxes per hospital visit.
- Current NABH assessors are excluded on conflict-of-interest grounds. Franchising, licensing or subcontracting empanelled status is prohibited. Renewal requires serving at least three hospitals over the three-year term.
Why the ₹10,000 figure matters
On public marketplaces, NABH consultancy is advertised anywhere from about ₹10,000 to over ₹4,50,000 with no stated basis for the difference. A published per-visit reference price is the first thing a hospital owner has ever had to anchor a quote against.
Our position, stated plainly
We are not an empanelled MITRA. The organisational route requires three hospitals already taken through accreditation under the firm's own name, and we would rather tell you that than let a page like this imply otherwise.
We also think the programme is good for hospitals and bad for the worst end of this category, which is the right combination. If you are choosing a consultant — us or anyone else — the programme gives you a checklist worth using:
- Ask whether they are empanelled, and ask for proof rather than a logo on a website.
- Ask who is coming on site and for how many days, and get it in the contract.
- Ask what they cannot promise. Anyone quoting a 100% success rate is describing something NABH's committee decides, not them.
- Ask how many hours of your own staff's time the engagement needs. Documents can be produced without you. Systems cannot.
One more thing worth knowing, because almost nobody selling accreditation support will tell you: NABH gives away sample policies, SOPs, formats and checklists free through E-Mitra, and states plainly that using them guarantees nothing. If a consultant's deliverable is a binder, you are paying for a free good.
Ask us the four questions on this page.
We'll answer them in writing before you commit to anything — including the one about what we can't promise.
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