Veterans hospital to come up in Bengaluru among 8 cities using CSR funds

Bengaluru: Through a partnership between private entities and the government, veterans hospitals would be established in eight prominent cities using Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds. The eight cities are Bengaluru, Delhi, Hyderabad, Ambala, Chennai, Jalandhar, Bareilly and Dehradun.  

Giving information about the initiative, MD of Ex-servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS) Maj. Gen. N.R. Indurkar said, "The plan is to have 200 to 400-bed hospitals. Infrastructure can be developed by a private entity on defence land or land along with developed infrastructure would be given for the private entity to manage the hospital."

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Stating that the cost of medical treatment would go down through these models, Indurkar said, "The hospital will be open for civilians too. It will differentiate between corporate competition and welfare." 

These eight cities were chosen as the location for veteran hospitals because there is a predominant population of ex-servicemen in these eight cities. In addition, Indurkar said that these places have an ecosystem where private entities can partner with the government to set up veterans hospitals, as per a media report in the Hindu. 

He further took examples of Reliance, ONGC, GAIL, Infosys and Tatas, who used CSR funds to establish large medical infrastructures in a similar manner. 

Medical Dialogues team had earlier reported about the 'Gold Award' received by Biocon Foundation, the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) arm of Biocon Limited in the ‘Diseases Screening Initiative of the Year’ category for its ‘Oral Cancer Screening Program’ by the India Health and Wellness (IHW) Council at the annual IHW Summit & Awards event, held in Mumbai. "The IHW Council’s ‘Gold Award for Diseases Screening Initiative of the Year’ is a great recognition of the impact Biocon Foundation has made in the early detection and management of oral cancer in the country through its cost-effective, innovative and technology-based screening program," said Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Executive Chairperson, Biocon and Managing Trustee, Biocon Foundation. 

Also Read:Biocon CSR arm wins 'IHW Gold Award for Diseases Screening Initiative of the Year' for 2022