Mumbai: ICICI Bank has announced a commitment to contribute Rs 1,200 crore towards Tata Memorial Centre (TMC). ICICI Bank will donate the money from its CSR funds to set up three new buildings spanning over a combined area of 7.5 lakh square feet and equip them with state-of-the-art machines at TMC’s centres at Navi Mumbai in Maharashtra, Mullanpur in Punjab and Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh. ICICI Foundation for Inclusive Growth (ICICI Foundation), the CSR arm of ICICI Bank, will implement the initiative, which is likely to be completed by 2027.
It will also set up two ‘ICICI Paediatric and Haematological Oncology Block’ at TMC’s Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital and Research Centre at Mullanpur in Punjab and Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh. These centres will provide an array of advanced equipment and therapies, which are required to treat paediatric and haematological cancer. The facilities will include intense chemotherapy, bone marrow transplantation, radiation therapy and newer immunotherapies like CAR-T cell, which are available only at super specialised centres. For the convenience of in-patient care, the centres will also have dedicated beds, day care units, ICUs, MRI and CT – PET Scan facility as well as laboratories for advanced testing including genetics, which are critical for treating paediatric and haematological cancers. These centres will also become regional referral centres in the entire southern and northern parts of the country.
Sanjay Datta, President, ICICI Foundation and Dr R. A. Badwe, Director, Tata Memorial Centre signed the agreement in the presence of Girish Chandra Chaturvedi, Chairman, ICICI Bank and Sandeep Batra, Executive Director, ICICI Bank.
Chaturvedi also inaugurated the ICICI MRI Facility today at Tata Memorial Hospital at Parel in Mumbai in the presence of Dr Badwe and Batra. This facility is equipped with an advanced MRI machine supported by ICICI Foundation.
Speaking on the occasion, Chaturvedi said: “ICICI Bank has a long-standing legacy of being in service of the nation. In line with this philosophy, ICICI Foundation has been working continuously to improve the well-being of citizens through its various initiatives in the areas of environmental conservation, skill development for sustainable livelihood, affordable healthcare and community development projects. Over the years, ICICI Foundation has planted over 2.6 million trees across the country, created capacity of harvesting 17.1 billion litres annually of rainwater at 5000 rural schools and watershed structures, implemented rooftop solar panel for rural schools, benefitted more than 2.9 million lives through skilling initiatives, with more than half being women. It has also benefitted over 6.5 million individuals through its social initiatives and over 1.5 million lives through its healthcare initiatives. Overall, ICICI Foundation has positively impacted more than 10.9 million beneficiaries through its various initiatives.
Today, we are committing Rs 1,200 crore for building three new blocks at TMC’s centres at Navi Mumbai, Mullanpur and Visakhapatnam by 2027. As part of our commitment towards promoting healthcare, this initiative will enhance comprehensive cancer care services in different regions of our country by providing patients access to advanced and latest cancer therapies. These new buildings will also service as regional referral centres and mitigate the need for patients to travel long distance to visit Tata Memorial Hospital at Parel in Mumbai.”
Adding on the occasion, Dr Badwe said, “We are extremely grateful to ICICI Foundation for embarking on one of the largest CSR initiatives to improve cancer care across the country. The infrastructure which is being added at the three hospitals of Tata Memorial Centre at Navi Mumbai, Visakhapatnam and Mullanpur will provide timely and high quality treatment to people in the region at highly subsidised costs. It is critical that advanced cancer care is delivered closer to home so that more people from the region benefit from accessing such therapies.
The radiation therapy block at ACTREC, Navi Mumbai will play a vital role in not only providing timely radiotherapy to a large number of patients but will also be delivered with the most advanced techniques, both of which are critical for a successful outcome. Childhood and adult blood cancers are highly curable but require very intense therapies. The ICICI centres being established at Visakhapatnam and Mullanpur are dedicated children and blood cancer centres and will provide state-of-the-art multidisciplinary care. These centres will soon become regional hubs offering advanced therapies such as bone marrow transplant and cellular therapies to patients from the region.”
