Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, on Tuesday, announced that the government would set up 20 advanced treatment centres for cancer patients throughout India, in a span of few years, in order to meet the rising number of patients who are falling victims to the disease.
Vardhan also said that the Centre was planning to set up a State Cancer Institute (SCI) and two other Tertiary Care Cancer Centres (TCCC) in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.
The Health Minister made these announcements after the inauguration of the Linear Accelerator, which is a project undertaken by the Indore Cancer Foundation Charitable Trust at the Indian Institute of Head and Neck Oncology.
"Annually 11 lakh new cases of cancer are detected in India. Of them, about 6.06 percent are in Madhya Pradesh," Vardhan said to Hindustan Times.
Vardhan also mentioned about a new scheme called the 'National Health Assurance', which will be introduced inorder to provide medical benefits to the people, along with an insurance scheme, in which the premium of the economically poor will be filed by the government.
Vardhan also went on to say that each of the TCCCs would contain 50 beds equipped with the latest technology. The patients can avail any kind of services like medicine, gynaecology, ENT, surgery, radiology or pathology.
He also added that the union health ministry will provide one-time support of up to ₹45 crore to each TCCC, up to 30 percent for construction and renovation.
"The total cost of each will be ₹120 crore, of which the central government will contribute 75 percent. In all, 50 such institutes are planned in the country over the long term," he further added.
