Union Health Minister J. P. Nadda has inaugurated an advanced radiotherapy facility at AIIMS Rajkot, which the Health Ministry says will serve about 1.54 crore people in Saurashtra and Kutch who earlier travelled to cities like Ahmedabad and Mumbai for such treatment.
Built at about ₹39 crore under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana, the facility has a high-energy linear accelerator (LINAC), a wide-bore CT simulator and a high dose rate brachytherapy unit. The LINAC supports techniques such as IMRT, VMAT, IGRT and stereotactic radiosurgery, delivering radiation with millimetre-level accuracy, the ministry said.
Who it will serve
The catchment covers Rajkot, Jamnagar, Junagadh, Porbandar, Amreli, Bhavnagar, Morbi, Surendranagar, Gir Somnath, Devbhumi Dwarka and Botad. The department has been operating since 29 May 2026 and expects an annual load of 500–700 cancer cases. Eligible Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY beneficiaries get cancer treatment free; others pay subsidised rates.
Screening figures cited
Nadda said that since 2018 about 37.7 crore people have been screened for oral cancer, with about 2.5 lakh cases detected; about 17.7 crore women for breast cancer (around 95,000 cases); and 9.8 crore women for cervical cancer (around one lakh cases). He said India has gone from one AIIMS to 18 operational out of 22.
Health Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava said there are more than 1.8 lakh Ayushman Arogya Mandirs and cited measures to make cancer drugs cheaper, including trade margin rationalisation, AMRIT pharmacies and Jan Aushadhi Kendras.
Photos
Source: official release by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, issued through the Press Information Bureau, Government of India (02 NOV 2026 6:17PM by PIB Delhi). Read the full official text: Union Health Minister Shri J.P. Nadda inaugurates Advanced Radiotherapy Facility at AIIMS Rajkot, reaffirms commitment to quality cancer care for every citizen.
How we verified this
VerifiedEvery fact, figure and quotation is taken from the official PIB release (Release ID 2331716) issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on 02 NOV 2026 6:17PM by PIB Delhi; checked against the source on publication. Story written by BDT from that release; no outside facts added.
Sources
- 1.Union Health Minister Shri J.P. Nadda inaugurates Advanced Radiotherapy Facility at AIIMS Rajkot, reaffirms commitment to quality cancer care for every citizen — Press Information Bureau, Government of India
