Authors say India has roughly 0.6 machines per million people, against four to six in developed healthcare systems.
Sondhi, former MD & CEO of Ashok Leyland and JCB India, and Raman, Principal Research Scientist at the Society for Innovation and Development, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, write in an opinion piece that India recorded nearly 1.5 million new cancer cases in 2022 and that over half require radiation therapy at some point.
They say the country has roughly 0.6 machines per million people, against four to six in developed healthcare systems, with a shortfall conservatively at about 1,200, and that India imports virtually every critical subsystem for next-generation radiation therapy.
They add that India has two operational proton centres, with several more projected by 2028.
They cite RRCAT in Indore, BARC and VECC as having relevant capabilities and say the Bhabhatron programme showed that laboratory-grade accelerator capability can be translated into a clinical-grade cancer treatment machine.
They say success should be measured by design ownership, intellectual property and manufacturing competence in the high-value subsystems, and call for structured arrangements with global suppliers that include technology co-development, subsystem localisation and vendor qualification for Indian manufacturers.
Source: The Hindu Business Line
