Jammu, April 11 The day-care cancer center at the Government Medical College (GMC) Kathua, established under the aegis of the Tata Memorial Centre, Mumbai, will be upgraded to include state-of-the-art radiotherapy equipment to provide advanced radiation treatment to cancer patients locally, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said on Saturday.
"This will reduce the need for patients to travel to distant metropolitan centers," the minister said during his address following the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in this regard between GMC Kathua and the Tata Memorial Centre.
Singh represents the Udhampur parliamentary constituency, which includes the Kathua district.
Highlighting the government's commitment to improving access to advanced healthcare services in the Union Territory, the minister said capacity building will be a key component of the partnership, with surgeons and medical professionals from GMC Kathua receiving specialized training in cancer surgery and oncology care from experts at the Tata Memorial Centre.
He emphasized that the initiative will not only improve patient care but also contribute to early diagnosis and timely treatment of cancer cases in the region.
In another important development, an MoU was signed between GMC Kathua and the CSIR Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine (IIIM).
The minister said that CSIR-IIIM, Jammu, is engaged in advanced research in areas such as drug resistance in tuberculosis and the development of interventions to boost immunity. This collaboration will pave the way for joint research projects addressing critical public health challenges, and also foster academic cooperation between the two institutions.
Singh further said that the MoU between GMC and CSIR-IIIM will facilitate joint academic programs, including postgraduate research, and will support MD thesis work in pharmacology and medicine.
This will provide medical students and researchers with greater exposure to interdisciplinary research and access to advanced scientific resources, he said.
Highlighting the importance of such collaborations, the Union Minister said that convergence between medical institutions and premier research organizations is essential for translating scientific research into clinical applications.
He expressed confidence that these partnerships will significantly contribute to strengthening the healthcare delivery system and promoting innovation-driven medical research in the Union Territory.
The minister later inaugurated a library at GMC Kathua. Highlighting that all academic journals are now accessible under the "One Nation One Subscription" initiative, the minister urged students to fully utilize the facility to advance their academic and research pursuits.
He also laid the foundation stone for a Common Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP) on the college campus. The project aims to strengthen environmental management and ensure proper treatment of waste generated within the institution.