Seismo-geodetic studies in the Himalayan region indicate the accumulation of large strains and the likelihood of large-magnitude earthquakes occurring anytime in the region; this can adversely affect the lives of several million people. Near-fault ground motions of large-magnitude earthquakes result in residual ground displacement parallel to the fault. The conventional method of earthquake hazard assessment is based on far-field ground motions and not this near-field effect. In this study, the Spectral Finite Element Method has been employed to simulate one great earthquake in the northeast Himalaya (namely the 1897 Mw8.1 Shillong earthquake). The simulated peak and residual ground motions in the near-fault regions are compared with the observed ground shaking reported in the literature. Based on this, a deterministic method is proposed to arrive at the design PSA response spectrum in near-fault regions, which captures the dominant pulse-like characteristics of near-fault ground motions. This method reflects (a) the physics of ground rupture and fault movement, through acceleration and velocity pulses, and (b) the site effects owing to the flexibility of soil deposits overlying the bedrock, through a convolution. With near-fault earthquake hazard assessment possible, now earthquake-resistant design of structures located in the proximity of faults can be performed.