While the central government has planned to develop cancer-care facilities in five states to provide affordable cancer treatment to thousands of patients, Tata trusts led by Ratan Tata has also joined in the venture and pledged Rs 1,000 crore and other facilities for the project.

New facilities or up gradation of existing facilities on the lines of Mumbai’s Tata Memorial Hospital will take place in Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh.

Currently, the Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai caters to patients from across the country. This leads to an invariably long waitlist. Many patients quit the treatment halfway as they hail from struggling families and are unable to afford the accommodation charges of the city. The new facilities will tackle this problem.

Tata Trusts will provide internal infrastructure and medical equipment as part of the Rs 1000 crore aid.Their doctors and paramedical staff will also be trained by Tata Memorial Hospital.

A senior doctor at Tata Memorial said that once the new or upgraded centres start operations, patients from north India won't have to come all the way to Mumbai for basic treatment.

The Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai has 700 beds and treats around 67,000 new cancer patients from across the country every year. About 4.5 lakh patients turn up annually for follow up. People from as far as the Middle East and Africa also visit the hospital to seek medical attention.