The government makes all efforts to ensure affordable and accessible treatment is available for cancer patients amid a rise in cases in India, Health Minister JP Nadda said today.
Replying to supplementary questions during Question Hour in the Lok Sabha, Mr Nadda said the government made all efforts to ensure that affordable and accessible treatment was available to the patients.
"The number of cancer cases is going up, it is increasing by almost 2.5 per cent every year," Mr Nadda said.
In men, cases of oral and lung cancer are on the up while more women are getting breast cancer, he added.
More than 15.5 lakh cancer cases are being registered every year, Mr Nadda said.
"There is a list of 131 essential cancer medicines, which are in Schedule 1, (that) are monitored and (their) pricing is decided by the government. These are the commonly used medicines," Mr Nadda said.
He said patients cumulatively saved around Rs 294 crore due to this price control.
"There are 28 combinations, which are not in this list but the NPPA (National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority) and the government have controlled their pricing as well," he said.
"We have tried to make cancer drugs affordable," he added.
Responding to another question on healthcare infrastructure, Mr Nadda said the government was apprised of the matter and expansion of medical colleges were happening so that there could be more doctors.
"There should be a balance in quality and quantity of medical education. We are trying to go as fast as we can but, at the same time, (we) do not want to compromise on the quality of medical doctors," he said.
Mr Nadda informed the House that the number of medical colleges had gone up from 387 in 2014 to 731 at present while the number of MBBS seats rose from 51,348 seats to 1,12,112 (1.12 lakh) during the same period.
The number of postgraduate seats for medical students has gone up from 31,185 in 2014 to 72,627 at present, he added.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Featured Video Of The Day
Russia And NATO At Loggerheads | India Global Special Broadcast
"Doctors Must Work Without Fear": Medical Body Chief Over Kolkata Horror Cancers In Head And Neck Rising, Account For 26% Cases In India: Study BJP Chief JP Nadda Returns As Health Minister In Modi 3.0 Cabinet Russia's Firing Of ICBM On Ukraine Is Weapon's 1st Combat Use In History This Asian City Is Emerging As Sex Tourism Hub. It's Not Where You Think Amazon Employee Greets Friend At Wedding, Dies Of Cardiac Arrest ISRO, Australian Space Agency Sign Agreement For Space Cooperation Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Praises Israel For Pager Attack Brazil Police Call Ex-President Bolsonaro's Indictment Over 2022 "Coup" Plot Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.