Nagpur: National Cancer Institute (NCI) in Jamtha, which was formally inaugurated last week, has received ₹550 crore from Corporate Social Responsibility (csr) Wealth. A major portion comes from Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs), which include private companies Reliance And Adani Groups are also contributing.
Funds were being collected for the hospital since 2014 with the aim of providing low-cost treatment to cancer patients.
The NCI is maintained by a trust, the Dr. Abjaji Thatte Institute of Services and Research, named after RSS pracharak Dr. Thatte. Started in 2017, the hospital has just completed its second phase, and was fully dedicated to the public last week. The guests included RSS Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. Billionaire Gautam Adani was also present along with representatives of other companies that contributed to the hospital.
“We started approaching companies with the concept of a state-of-the-art cancer hospital in the city. It was tough, but eventually we raised enough money.” Shailesh JoglekarThe general secretary of the trust running the hospital.
Cancer treatment facility has a very long return on investment period. This may deter the private sector from investing large amounts. This makes a CSR funded hospital a better option, he says. As CSR has become mandatory, it has also helped, he added.
The fund has helped build the entire set up. Since it takes care of the capital cost, patients can be treated at a lower cost. This is about half of what the private sector charges on average, says Joglekar. He agrees that NCI is unique in its kind considering the scale of funding purely through CSR. They say that small donations can also be made by individuals, which are eligible for tax exemption.
If treatment is free in government hospitals, it comes at heavily subsidized rates in NCI compared to the private sector, he says.
Funds were being collected for the hospital since 2014 with the aim of providing low-cost treatment to cancer patients.
The NCI is maintained by a trust, the Dr. Abjaji Thatte Institute of Services and Research, named after RSS pracharak Dr. Thatte. Started in 2017, the hospital has just completed its second phase, and was fully dedicated to the public last week. The guests included RSS Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. Billionaire Gautam Adani was also present along with representatives of other companies that contributed to the hospital.
“We started approaching companies with the concept of a state-of-the-art cancer hospital in the city. It was tough, but eventually we raised enough money.” Shailesh JoglekarThe general secretary of the trust running the hospital.
Cancer treatment facility has a very long return on investment period. This may deter the private sector from investing large amounts. This makes a CSR funded hospital a better option, he says. As CSR has become mandatory, it has also helped, he added.
The fund has helped build the entire set up. Since it takes care of the capital cost, patients can be treated at a lower cost. This is about half of what the private sector charges on average, says Joglekar. He agrees that NCI is unique in its kind considering the scale of funding purely through CSR. They say that small donations can also be made by individuals, which are eligible for tax exemption.
If treatment is free in government hospitals, it comes at heavily subsidized rates in NCI compared to the private sector, he says.