Lok Sabha Question No. 2184 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-12-12
Subject: Cancer Patients Treatment at Affordable Costs
Ministry: HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE
Asked by: Shri Rajabhau Parag Prakash Waje

## GOVERNMENTOFINDIA MINISTRYOF HEALTH AND FAMILYWELFARE DEPARTMENTOFHEALTH AND FAMILYWELFARE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2184 TO BE ANSWERED ON 12 TH DECEMBER, 2025

## CANCER PATIENTS TREATMENT AT AFFORDABLE COSTS

## 2184. SHRI RAJABHAU PARAG PRAKASH WAJE:

## Will the Minister of HEALTH AND FAMILYWELFARE be pleased to state :

- (a) whether the Government has undertaken specific measures to ensure that patients across the country, particularly in semi-urban and rural areas, receive high-quality cancer diagnosis, treatment and palliative care at affordable costs and if so, the details thereof along with any recent policy interventions;
- (b) whether any significant research outcomes, innovations or new clinical protocols have been developed during the last four years in the field of cancer prevention, early detection and treatment and if so, the details thereof;
- (c) the manner in which such developments have been implemented in Government hospitals and public health facilities across the country;
- (d) the role and functioning of the National Cancer Grid (NCG) in strengthening cancer care delivery and research along with the details of the list of cancer centres, affiliated research institutes, medical colleges and partner hospitals under the Grid, State-wise; and
- (e) the extent to which collaboration under this network has benefited cancer patients, especially at the grass-roots level?

## ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE (SHRI PRATAPRAO JADHAV)

(a) to (c): The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare provides technical and financial support to States and Union Territories across the country under the National Programme for Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases (NP-NCD) as part of the National Health Mission (NHM). The Programme focuses on strengthening infrastructure, human resource development, screening, early diagnosis, referral, treatment, and health promotion for Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) including cancer as per need and proposal from the State and Union Territories.

A population-based initiative for prevention, control and screening for common NCDs including Cancer has been rolled out in the country at Ayushman Arogya Mandir (AAM) under National Health Mission (NHM) as a part of Comprehensive Primary Health Care. Under the initiative, persons more than 30 years of age are targeted for their screening.

The Government of India is implementing the Strengthening of Tertiary Cancer Care Centres Facilities scheme. Under this initiative, financial assistance is provided as a one-time grant of up to ₹120 crore for State Cancer Institutes (SCIs) and up to ₹45 crore for Tertiary Cancer Care Centres (TCCCs), including the State share. As of now, 19 SCIs and 20 TCCCs have been approved across the country. These institutions serve as critical hubs for advanced cancer care, diagnosis, research, and capacity building and are equipped with specialized infrastructure and expert manpower. TCCCs and SCIs play a pivotal role in delivering high-quality care and strengthening the public health infrastructure.

Further, The Tata Memorial Hospital has established 06 hospitals providing high quality comprehensive cancer care treatment in semi-urban and rural areas across the country at Varanasi(Uttar Pradesh),New Chandigarh(Punjab), Visakhapatnam(Andhra Pradesh),Guwahati (Assam), Sangrur (Punjab),Muzaffarpur (Bihar)

Under National Programme for Palliative Care (NPPC), the Out Patient, In-Patient palliative care services are being delivered at district hospitals in 600 districts across all States/Union Territories. Home based palliative care services are also being delivered by trained Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) and Community volunteers.

(d) The National Cancer Grid (NCG) functions as a countrywide network of cancer centres, medical colleges, research institutes and partner hospitals, aimed at ensuring uniform, high-quality and evidencebased cancer care across all States. It develops national treatment guidelines, carries out health technology assessments, conducts virtual tumour boards for complex cases, undertakes institutional peer reviews, runs quality-improvement and travelling training programmes, and supports digital oncology initiatives including electronic medical records and tele-consultation services. It also improves drug affordability through group negotiations and promotes training and research through fellowships, online courses and joint research programmes with Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). At present, there are 394 member organizations in the NCG. In the last two years a total of 80 cancer centres have been added to the NCG. Between these centres, more than 860,000 new cancer cases are treated annually.

(e) The linkage of NCG guidelines for cancers for reimbursement with ABPM-JAY has ensured that the beneficiaries are given treatment as per the recommended standards. The oncology Electronic Medical Record (EMR) which is being deployed by the NCG allows patients to have ownership of their health records, facilitates seamless transition of care of patients between centres and allows monitoring of treatment quality. The pooled procurement has improved the access and affordability of life-saving anticancer medicines in the remote locations ensuring treatment completion without interruptions due to medicine costs and stock-outs. The virtual tumour boards have facilitated appropriate treatment of more than 7000 complex cancer cases. Training of manpower including doctors, nurses and allied professionals from smaller centres have led to improvement in care at grassroots level.

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