Maharashtra has only 937 ambulances under its flagship public-private partnership (PPP) 108 Maharashtra Emergency Medical Services (MEMS), a project launched by the state government in 2014. Of these, 704 are basic life support (BLS) ambulances, while only 233 are advanced life support (ALS) ones, which are crucial for handling critical emergencies.

At the time of its launch, the ambulance fleet was allocated based on a ratio of one per lakh population, using the 2011 census, which recorded Maharashtra’s population at 9.37 crore. However, more than a decade later, a report by the Technical Group on Population Projections, released on February 14, 2025, projects the state’s population to exceed 12.87 crore on July 1, 2025—highlighting a widening gap in emergency medical resources. At the ground level, the hospital staff claim that many of these ambulances are constantly in garages, according to an extensive mid-day report.