In last two decades, there has been an increase in availability of Radiation Oncology in India: Dr Jitendra

In the last two decades, there has been a continuous increase in availability of Radiation Oncology facilities for cancer care in India and the number of treatment units Linear Accelerators and Telecobalts have increased from less than 250 in year 1995 to approximately 552 units in 2015.

The newer Radiation facilities, though lesser than the actual requirement in the country, do have advanced facilities for catering to radiotherapy cancer treatment.

The Radiation Oncology community within India has utilized the available infrastructure to develop a strong scientific program for radiation treatment delivery in India across academic centers of excellence. 

DAE also has developed technology in recovering Cs137 radioisotope from the radioactive waste generated from the fission products of the reactor, which has got application in medical field. BARC has a major agricultural research program on improvement of oilseeds, pulses, wheat and rice using radiation-based mutation breeding methods for the past several decades.

Already 42 varieties of different crops have been developed by BARC that include groundnut (15 varieties), mustard (3 varieties), soybean (2 varieties), sunflower (1 variety), mungbean (8 varieties), uridbean (5 varieties), pigeonpea (5 varieties), cowpea (1 variety) and 1 variety each of rice and jute. These crop varieties are endowed with one or more improved and desirable attributes such as higher yields, early harvesting, large seed sizes, along with resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses.

This information was provided by the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Development of North-Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.

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Source: SP News Agency