Cancer care: India's 1st public sector proton therapy centre in Assam

Guwahati: Assam is set to establish India's first proton beam therapy centre in the public healthcare sector, with the state government signing an agreement on Saturday with Belgium-based Ion Beam Applications (IBA) to install the advanced cancer-treatment facility at Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), NDTV reported.

The Rs 600-crore project is expected to transform access to specialised cancer care in the Northeast, reducing the need for patients to travel to other parts of the country for advanced radiation treatment. The Assam Cabinet had earlier cleared the investment for the facility.

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, speaking after the agreement was signed at Lok Sewa Bhawan, said the equipment alone would cost around Rs 600 crore and that installation was expected to be completed within three years. He described the project as a significant step forward for both Assam's healthcare infrastructure and India's public medical sector.

Proton beam therapy is among the most advanced forms of radiation treatment for cancer. Sarma said the government would also monitor emerging technologies, including FLASH proton therapy and ion beam treatment, with a view to adopting them in the future.

The state government aims to make advanced cancer care affordable, with Sarma pointing to health coverage of up to Rs 5 lakh under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY). Most treatments are covered under the scheme, he said.

Assam is also attracting patients from Bhutan, Bangladesh, North Bengal and other parts of the Northeast, strengthening its position as a destination for specialised medical treatment. The new centre is expected to further expand the region's capacity to handle complex cancer cases.