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PCMC cancer hospital in final stage of approval

PCMC cancer hospital in final stage of approval

Hindustan Times12-05-2025
PUNE After three extensions to the tender deadlines of the cancer hospital, the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) has finalised the contractor and submitted the same for approval to the standing committee, said officials on Sunday.
The PCMC, for the past two years, has been working to set up a dedicated cancer hospital in Thergaon. A tender was issued to set up the hospital on a public-private partnership (PPP) model. However, the tender received a poor response.
Furthermore, even after three extensions, only one contractor came forward. Following this, the PCMC decided to award the project to this contractor. The PCMC will provide a land parcel to the contractor for 30 years.
Approvals have been completed, and the proposal is in the final stage and has been submitted to the Standing Committee for approval, said officials.
Dr Laxman Gophane, health officer of PCMC, said, the treatment charges at the hospital will be covered under the Mahatma Jyotiba Jan Arogya Yojana (MJPJAY).
'The patients not eligible for any scheme will be treated as per the Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) rates, which makes it accessible to all income groups. The proposal is in the end stage, and the work will start soon,' he said.
The hospital will also offer auxiliary services like chemotherapy, radiation therapy, surgeries, and counselling. It will be equipped to treat various types of cancers, including breast, lung, prostate, and cervical cancer. Facilities like linear accelerators, brachytherapy units, and PET-CT scans will also be available, informed Dr Gophane.
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Beating clots while you sit: Meet the SitWalker
Beating clots while you sit: Meet the SitWalker

Hindustan Times

time13 hours ago

  • Hindustan Times

Beating clots while you sit: Meet the SitWalker

PUNE Atul Kherde's (L) life took a serendipitous turn in 2018 when he unexpectedly reconnected with an old friend, Dr Shilpa Gosavi, during a trek in the Himalayas. (HT) Atul Kherde's life took a serendipitous turn in 2018 when he unexpectedly reconnected with an old friend, Dr Shilpa Gosavi, during a trek in the Himalayas. A seasoned anatomist, Dr Gosavi shared a troubling pattern she had observed over two decades of dissecting cadavers. 'The veins in the legs are increasingly problematic. We're seeing more blood pooling, which leads to clots—and in many cases, that's what causes death. One in every four diabetics in India risks developing foot ulcers that could lead to amputation. Every day in India, we witness 450 foot amputations,' Dr Shilpa said. What could have been a casual exchange between old friends sparked deeper curiosity in Atul. Dr Gosavi explained that the main culprit behind such clots, arteriosclerosis in the leg veins, was a sedentary lifestyle. 'People sit all day—at work, at home—and barely move, especially the ankle, which plays a vital role in pushing blood back up to the heart,' she noted. Atul, a computer engineer from Pune, had always been drawn to machines and gadgets. 'Even before graduating, I was fixing factory machines in Bhosari—soldering, lathe work, you name it,' he recalls. What Shilpa told him on that trek lingered in his mind. She explained the role of the body's 'secret' blood pumps—the calf muscles, particularly the soleus and gastrocnemius. 'Every time the ankle moves, these muscles contract, squeezing deep veins and pushing blood toward the heart. Without that motion, blood pools in the legs. Swelling follows, then varicose veins, and eventually ulcers—especially dangerous for diabetics, as these wounds heal slowly.' The issue, Atul realised, wasn't a lack of awareness—most people knew the risks, but a lack of time and movement. People don't get up. The insight hit him: if the ankle could move while a person remained seated, especially without bending the knee, the body's natural blood pump could still be activated. By the end of the trek, Atul had already sketched a prototype: A device that would stimulate the soleus muscle without requiring the user to walk. Soon after, he filed a patent for what he called the SitWalker. Now to make the SitWalker Excited about the potential of their new invention, Atul and Shilpa each invested ₹50,000 with a simple pact: 'If we fail, we'll consider it part of the journey.' Once again, serendipity played its part. 'During my student days, I had met VL Latkar from the Chinmaya Mission in PCMC,' Atul recalls. 'When I told him about SitWalker, he generously offered me access to his computers and even agreed to manufacture the first 20 prototypes. 'After that, we'll talk business,' he said.' Latkar happened to run a successful medical products manufacturing company. Between his factory's shifts, Atul used their computers to create CAD drawings of the SitWalker. Remarkably, within three months of his initial sketch, he had the first prototype in hand. But, as with most proof-of-concept products, it was far from perfect. 'I had imagined something sleek and practical,' says Atul. 'But the prototype was bulky; there was no way someone could comfortably use it under an office desk.' Several more prototypes followed, but none matched his vision. Frustration set in. 'I remember sitting under the famous tree at Bhau Institute (COEP), feeling completely dejected,' he says. 'And then after two hours of solitude, I thought I wanted a gadget that people can use very easily. It is ultimately a footrest and hence should look like a footrest,' he thought. And so the idea of housing all mechanics inside a plain, elegant box emerged.' After 47 design iterations, SitWalker finally arrived at the compact, user-friendly form it has today. Money spinners Early on, the duo bootstrapped with ₹50,000/- each. With the sweet intervention of Lady Luck, his two friends Vijay Pandita and Yogesh Thokal invested in his company and boosted the initial corpus to ₹15 lakh. One even transferred ₹10 lakh upfront, saying, 'I trust you'll do what's right.' Meanwhile, Atul enrolled for the TiE Pune Mentorship program. At that program, one of the mentors, Shashank Deshpande, saw his SitWalker and bought it right away for his mother. Providence was slowly working. 'I met Anand Deshpande of Persistent Ltd, who is another mentor at TiE, and he got interested in my project. He told me that if I get another investor, then he will invest in my company because he could not keep tabs on my work and was willing to invest with another investor who would watch our work.' Within two years and two funding rounds, Atul had raised ₹1.87 crore. This capital fuelled product development, sustained the team through the harsh COVID phase, supported early marketing, but more importantly, helped place around 300 SitWalkers that are still in active use. Challenges When Atul was making his initial 350 SitWalkers, he knew clearly that investing in a manufacturing unit would be too difficult and not help him in his goal of building this gadget that could help people saddled with a sedentary lifestyle. So he decided that he would outsource the manufacturing of different parts to different vendors and assemble the product himself. But that was easier said than done. Says Atul, 'The problem all start-up founders have to tackle is how to procure goods in small quantities. You cannot place large orders, nor do you have the funds. You are starting out, and based on the performance, your order size will increase. But vendors look at scale, not potential of the product.' So Atul had to work his way to finding vendors who would agree to deliver small quantities. In the early days, Anand Deshpande had introduced Atul to Narendra Kale, who got him to be part of the Bhau incubator at COEP. 'We used the table there to assemble our gadgets.' However, he had by then hired a team of 10 people who worked to design the product, packaging, and literature. Things were moving up, and Atul realised he needed more money to scale up. 'In 2022, I applied for a ₹50 lakh grant from the DST (Department of Science & Technology). With that, I could scale up my business, spend some more on marketing, hire more staff, and manufacture more SitWalkers.' However, sadly, that did not come through. 'That was a horrible time for me. We were low on funds, and even my co-founder, Shilpa, felt we should shut down the business. But I stood firm. In my mind, I decided that SitWalker would not shut down simply because of this.' Staying afloat Atul put in his own funds of ₹15 lakhs to keep the ball rolling. 'I was in a bad shape financially. At that time, I saw an ad on LinkedIn where there was an event on diabetes, and Anand Deshpande was doing a segment where he was presenting five start-ups that were ready with their products. I told Anand that I had a ready-to-sell product, and he included my SitWalker and himself presented it to the doctors attending the event.' As luck would have it, an Indian doctor based in Germany got interested in the SitWalker. 'He was more cued in to the start-up game and asked me what my problems were. I told him that I needed funds and an outreach that doctors like him could provide.' Today, SitWalker is sold D2C (direct-to-consumer), largely through word-of-mouth, as there is no paid advertising since the setback. Over 70 units were sold in 2023–24, with rising demand and zero price resistance, even as unit prices increased from ₹14,000 to ₹22,000. The conversion rate from Facebook ads once touched 10% — far above the industry average. What comes next With lean operations now breaking even at just 3–4 units a month, Atul plans to scale mindfully. He's hired two staff for sales and outreach, and is preparing for a re-entry via social media marketing. He's also eyeing institutional sales — hospitals, corporations, and government agencies. Is VC funding on the cards? 'Eventually, yes — but not until we have our numbers. I want the right investor, someone who understands preventive health-tech.' The future The journey from the foothills of the Himalayas to now has been nothing short of a rollercoaster. But Atul has managed to survive up to now. The recent fund infusion has helped him. 'I have hired two people, and I plan to use Facebook ads that in the past have had good results. The conversion rate is generally said to be 1 to 2% but we would get a conversion of 8-10% with our FB Ads. Till then, Atul will find ways to grow slowly but surely. After all he has been through, he is not likely to give up. Maybe Lady Luck and surely his persistence will work some magic.

CGHS Update For Govt Employees: Rate Revision For Health Services On The Cards? Check Reports
CGHS Update For Govt Employees: Rate Revision For Health Services On The Cards? Check Reports

India.com

time2 days ago

  • India.com

CGHS Update For Govt Employees: Rate Revision For Health Services On The Cards? Check Reports

photoDetails english 2936156 Updated:Jul 24, 2025, 01:16 PM IST CGHS Beneficiaries Likely To Hear Good News Soon 1 / 7 CGHS beneficiaries have good news! The central government is reportedly considering pricing revisions under Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) to enhance health services for government employees and pensioners covered by the program. This move will benefit millions of beneficiaries covered under the scheme. Revision Of CGHS Rates Soon 2 / 7 Union minister for labour and employment Dr Mansukh Mandaviya recently assured that the central government plans to revise CGHS rates soon. The revision aims to improve the quality of healthcare services provided under the program. The minister's assurance about a possible revision in CGHS rates assumes great significance for central government employees and pensioners. There has been a long-standing request from different parties to upgrade CGHS facilities. NC JCM Demands Implementation Of CGHS Facilities 3 / 7 The Staff Side of the National Council Joint Consultative Machinery (NC JCM), which represents millions of central government staff, had earlier this year urged the government to implement the recommendations of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Petitions regarding CGHS facilities to the central government employees, pensioners and their dependents. NC JCM Urges Government For CGHS Rates Revision 4 / 7 Ahead of the union budget this year in February, the NC JCM urged the finance minister to address important concerns of government staff related to CGHS. The staff side made several appeals to the government, including the revision of CGHS rates, enhancement of treatment procedures and settlement of issues related to excess amount charges from beneficiaries, among others. Govt Last Year Revised CGHS Rates 5 / 7 The government revised the CGHS rates in February last year. The updated charges apply to central government employees and their family members. The CGHS facilities are available in around 80 Indian cities. Therefore, all the CGHS cities are subject to the revised rates. With CGHS Rates Revision, Central Staff To Get Better Medical Care 6 / 7 The central employees and pensioners have continuously demanded that the CGHS rates be made in line with private hospitals. Due to very low CGHS rates, receiving treatment or surgery is challenging, especially in metropolitan cities and large private hospitals. Despite the CGHS rate revision in February, the discrepancy exists. The latest statement of the union minister regarding rate revision assures that this inequality will be removed soon. The rate revision will also ensure that central government employees and pensioners get better medical care. Who Is Eligible For CGHS Facilities? 7 / 7 The CGHS is a healthcare facility scheme for central government employees and pensioners. All the central government employees paid from the central civil estimates (except railways and Delhi administration), including their families, are eligible to receive benefits under CGHS. All the pensioners of the central government (except Railways and the Armed Forces) and their families are also eligible for CGHS.

Work on PCMC's Moshi hospital project progresses steadily
Work on PCMC's Moshi hospital project progresses steadily

Hindustan Times

time3 days ago

  • Hindustan Times

Work on PCMC's Moshi hospital project progresses steadily

The construction of the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation's (PCMC) upcoming 700-bed general hospital at Moshi is moving forward rapidly, with the structure now completed up to the third floor. Launched in December 2023, the project aims to strengthen the public healthcare system in Pimpri-Chinchwad and reduce the load on the existing Yashwantrao Chavan Memorial (YCM) Hospital, the officials said. The construction of the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation's (PCMC) upcoming 700-bed general hospital at Moshi is moving forward rapidly, with the structure now completed up to the third floor. (HT) Spread over 16 acres in Moshi, the hospital is being developed at a cost of ₹340.67 crore. With a total built-up area of 57,450 square metres, the facility will include a basement and eight floors, and is envisioned as a state-of-the-art, integrated medical campus. Shekhar Singh, municipal commissioner, PCMC, said, 'This hospital is one of the most important healthcare projects in the region. It will not only expand access to quality public healthcare but also bring in modern design and sustainability features that are essential for a growing city like Pimpri-Chinchwad.' The PCMC officials confirmed that excavation and basement construction are complete. The hospital is being built on a 36-month timeline and is currently on schedule. Vijay Khorate, additional municipal commissioner, PCMC, said, 'We are closely monitoring the progress of the Moshi hospital project. The pace of work is satisfactory, and we are committed to ensuring timely completion without compromising on quality and safety.' Once operational, the Moshi General Hospital will be among the largest public healthcare facilities in the Pune Metropolitan Region. Chief engineer Pramod Ombhase said, 'The structural work up to the third floor has been completed as per the approved schedule. We are integrating advanced systems like a Pneumatic Tube System and PSA oxygen generator while also ensuring the building meets green certification standards.'

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