On 31 October 2026, the Assam government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Belgium-based Ion Beam Applications (IBA) Particles to establish India’s first public-sector proton beam therapy centre at Gauhati Medical College and Hospital in Guwahati.
Project funding and cancer-care plans
The project is estimated to cost ₹600 crore. Funding includes a ₹315 crore World Bank loan and a ₹285 crore contribution from the Assam government. The centre is expected to become operational in at least three years.
It will be India’s third proton beam therapy facility, after private centres at Tata Cancer Hospital in Mumbai and Apollo Hospital in Chennai. The initiative aims to make advanced cancer treatment, particularly for children, more accessible and affordable; private proton therapy can cost up to ₹50 lakh.
The state cabinet approved the centre in August 2026 under the Assam State Secondary Healthcare Initiative for Service Delivery Transformation (ASSIST). Assam has 12 of its 17 planned cancer hospitals functional and is seeking to expand its cancer-care infrastructure.
Important Facts for Exams
- Bragg-peak deposition: Proton beams deliver their maximum dose near the end of their range, with very few protons penetrating beyond that depth.
- Pencil-beam scanning: Pencil-beam scanning uses magnets to steer thin proton beamlets, painting the target layer by layer without apertures or compensators.
- Paediatric tissue sparing: For paediatric cancers, proton therapy’s minimal exit dose can limit radiation to surrounding normal tissues and reduce acute toxicity.
