AIIMS Rajkot Gets Rs 39 Crore Advanced Radiotherapy Facility

Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare Jagat Prakash Nadda dedicated the Advanced Radiotherapy Facility at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Rajkot to the nation on 2 November 2026. Built at a cost of about Rs 39 crore under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY), it is meant to bring specialised cancer treatment within reach of patients in Rajkot and the wider Saurashtra region, who until now travelled to Ahmedabad or Mumbai for the same care.

What the facility holds

Three machines form its core: a High Energy Linear Accelerator (LINAC), a Wide Bore CT Simulator and a High Dose Rate (HDR) Brachytherapy Unit. The accelerator supports Intensity Modulated Radiotherapy (IMRT), Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy (VMAT), Image Guided Radiotherapy (IGRT), Stereotactic Radiosurgery (SRS), Stereotactic Radiotherapy (SRT) and Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy (SBRT), delivering radiation to millimetre-level accuracy. The CT simulator feeds three-dimensional treatment planning, while HDR brachytherapy treats gynaecological and head and neck cancers, sarcomas and other tumours from inside the body. The Department of Radiation Oncology has been running since 29 May 2026 alongside chemotherapy and surgical oncology, so a patient can get surgery, drugs and radiation under one roof.

Who it serves

The wider picture the Minister drew

Mr Nadda said India has moved from a single AIIMS in New Delhi to 18 of 22 such institutions now working. On prevention he cited screening through Ayushman Arogya Mandirs since 2018: about 44 crore screenings each for hypertension and diabetes, about 37.7 crore people screened for oral cancer with roughly 2.5 lakh cases found, about 17.7 crore women screened for breast cancer with around 95,000 cases identified, and 9.8 crore women screened for cervical cancer with about one lakh cases detected. Quoting a Lancet finding, he said 90 per cent of cancer patients now begin treatment within 30 days, crediting the financial cover of Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY.

Others on the dais

Praful Pansheriya, Gujarat's Minister of State for Health, Family Welfare and Medical Education, welcomed the opening. Union Health Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava placed it against the National Health Policy 2017 and listed more than 1.8 lakh Ayushman Arogya Mandirs, the Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission, the Swasth Nari Sashakt Parivar screening campaign, and steps on drug affordability such as trade margin rationalisation, AMRIT pharmacies, Jan Aushadhi Kendras and customs duty exemptions. Dr J.S. Titiyal, President of AIIMS Rajkot, and Dr L.N. Dorairajan, its Executive Director, were present, along with Members of Parliament Parshottambhai Rupala and Kesridevsinh Jhala.