Rajasthan government working on developing population-based cancer registry

 Ms Shubhra Singh, Additional Chief Secretary, Medical & Health and Family Welfare Department, Govt of Rajasthan today said that Rajasthan government is dedicated towards “swasthya” with 7.4% of public spend on healthcare. While applauding FICCI for taking up the important topic of cancer, she shared that Rajasthan has been committed to early detection of cancer along with timely cure. “Under the Mukhyamantri Aayushman Aarogya (MAA) Yojna, there are various packages which offer relief including cashless transactions to the people covered under the scheme,” she added.

Addressing the ‘FICCI Roundtable for Rajasthan’, held under the aegis of Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, GoI, on the ‘Road Map for Making Cancer Care Affordable and Accessible in India’, Ms Singh said that the state government is working on developing population-based cancer registry. “115 hospitals are already registered in the state for cancer registry. The State Cancer Institute Jaipur is the apex cancer institute in the state, and we also have Territory cancer care center at Bikaner and Jhalwar,” she noted.

Mr Raj Gore, Co-lead, FICCI Task Force on Cancer Care and CEO, Healthcare Global Enterprises Limited (HCG) expressed that today, we are confronted with a significant challenge of increasing burden of cancer in our country. According to the FICCI report, cancer cases are expected to increase to 250 to 280 per lakh population by 2030. The data reveals a concerning rise in cancer cases across India, with projections indicating a significant surge in the coming years. It is imperative that we come together to address this pressing issue and work towards making cancer care more accessible and affordable for all.

Other key stakeholders like Dr Shalini Singh, Director, ICMR, National Institute of Cancer Prevention and Rehabilitation; Dr Jatin Thakkar, State NCD officer, W.H.O; Mr Vineet Gupta, Co-Lead, FICCI Task Force on Cancer Care & Head- Government Affairs, Siemens Healthineers; Dr Ravi Gaur, Founder- DRG Path Labs and Partner & Director, UniDRG Specialty Labs; Dr Hemant Malhotra, Professor & Head, Department of Medical Oncology, Sriram Cancer Centre, Mahatma Gandhi Medical College & Hospital Jaipur, also shared their perspectives and suggestions

FICCI has been cognizant of the healthcare crisis and formed a multistakeholder Task Force in 2022 to deliberate on the future strategies on tackling the cancer burden. The Task Force in collaboration with EY released a report titled ‘Call for Action: Making quality cancer care more accessible and affordable in India’, which was submitted to all concerned healthcare departments.

FICCI is now organising Regional Roundtables on Cancer Care under the aegis of the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India, for further awareness as well as garnering suggestions from stakeholders across the country. Three roundtables were held in Gandhinagar, Bengaluru, and Bhuvaneswar.

The FICCI Jaipur Roundtable was attended by more than 70 stakeholders from various parts of Rajasthan and neighbouring states, including government officials, senior clinicians, and representatives of hospitals, MedTech and pharma companies. It was supported by HCG Cancer Hospitals and Varian, with EY as the Knowledge Partner.

FICCI-EY Report 2022 on ‘Call for Action: Making quality cancer care more accessible and affordable in India’. (click here to download)