The Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and the Jamsetji Tata Trust have sanctioned grants of Rs 400 million and Rs 150 million respectively, to set up a 150-bed world class cancer hospital in Kokata, West Bengal. The proposed hospital has been named the Tata Medical Centre. It is located on a 10-acre site in the developing region of Rajarhat, Kolkata.

With an aim to cater to the North East and Eastern regions of India, the Tata Medical Centre will run on lines similar to the Tata Memorial Centre, Mumbai. A core committee has been set up to give technical inputs. The committee will oversee the implementation of the new project, which is envisaged to become a state-of-the-art, tertiary care centre for cancer, promoting prevention, cure, rehabilitation and palliation.

Given the fact that there are an estimated two-and-a-half to three million cases of cancer in the country at any given time (out of which nearly one million cases were diagnosed in 2005), this initiative is being considered as a timely step in the crusade against cancer.