New Delhi/Bhubaneswar: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday laid the foundation stone of Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital and Research Centre at NISER, Bhubaneswar, campus at Jatni in Odisha’s Khurda district through video conferencing while dedicating multiple projects related to scientific and technological advancement in the country worth more than Rs 5800 crore at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi.
According to sources, the plan to have a state-of-the-art cancer hospital at NISER campus was announced by the Centre last year. The 150-bed cancer hospital will come up on 30 acre with NISER providing 17 acre land from its campus and Union Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship sharing 13 acre available with near the campus at an estimated cost of Rs 650 crore. The Odisha government is also considering to provide a patch of land for the centre, sources further said.
It is likely to be ready in two to three years.
The Department of Atomic Energy, which is the administrative department of NISER, and Tata Memorial Centre (TMC) and Tata Trusts will collaborate for the project. While the Centre will spend Rs 400 crore, Tata Trusts will bear the rest Rs 250 crore. The hospital will not only provide affordable cancer care to the people but also help the institute conduct clinical and scientific research on cancer.
Once commissioned, students of three-year MSc in medical and radiological physics can get training on the campus instead of going to TMC Mumbai and other hospitals, the sources added.
The other projects for which the foundation stone was laid include Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory-India (LIGO-India), Hingoli and Platinum Jubilee Block of Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai. Last month, the Union Cabinet gave its nod for LIGO-India at an estimated cost of Rs 2,600 crore which is likely to be completed by 2030.
The projects, which PM Modi dedicated to the nation, included Fission Molybdenum-99 Production Facility, Mumbai; Rare Earth Permanent Magnet Plant, Visakhapatnam; National Hadron Beam Therapy Facility, Navi Mumbai; Radiological Research Unit, Navi Mumbai; Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital and Research Centre, Visakhapatnam; and Women & Children Cancer Hospital Building, Navi Mumbai. He also inaugurated the expo showcasing scientific & technological advancements made in India in the recent past and released a commemorative stamp and coin on the occasion.
PM Modi said that these facilities and the various cancer research hospitals will give a push to the progress of the country with the help of nuclear technology. He called LIGO as one of the foremost science and technology initiatives of the 21st century. “The observatory will bring new opportunities for research for the students and scientists,” he added.
The programme also marked the commencement of the celebration of the 25th year of National Technology Day, which will be held from May 11-14. It was started by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 1999 to honour Indian scientists, engineers and technologists, who worked for scientific and technological advancement and ensured the successful conduct of Pokhran tests in May 1998.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh were also present at the event.
