In a major infrastructure boost for Tata Memorial Centre (TMC), ICICI Bank has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to contribute ₹1200 crore, one of the biggest by any corporate entity so far for cancer treatment and research centres.
The donation will be used to set up three new buildings of a combined area of 7.5 lakh sqft and equip them with state-of-the-art machines at TMC’s centres at Navi Mumbai in Maharashtra, Mullanpur in Punjab, and Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh. The initiative will be implemented by the ICICI Foundation for Inclusive Growth, the CSR arm of the bank, and is likely to be completed by 2027.
With modern equipment and specialized multidisciplinary teams, these new centers of excellence in oncology treatment will provide advanced and evidence-based therapies to nearly 25,000 new patients every year, doubling the present capacity and providing a significant boost to India's cancer treatment infrastructure.
ICICI Bank chairman Girish Chandra Chaturvedi said that these new buildings will also serve as regional referral centers and mitigate the need for patients to travel long distances to visit Tata Memorial Hospital at Parel in Mumbai. TMC director Dr RA Badwe said that new infrastructure will provide timely and high-quality treatment to people at highly subsidized costs. "It is critical that advanced cancer care is delivered closer to home so that more people from the region benefit from accessing such therapies," he said.
The radiation therapy block at ACTREC, Navi Mumbai, will play a vital role in not only providing timely radiotherapy but will also be delivered with the most advanced techniques, both of which are critical for a successful outcome, Dr. Badwe said.
Childhood and adult blood cancers are highly curable but require very intense therapies. The ICICI centers being established at Visakhapatnam and Mullanpur are dedicated children and blood cancer centers and will provide state-of-the-art multidisciplinary care, he said.
