IIT Kharagpur and TCG Crest have signed a memorandum of understanding to develop a cancer research centre in Kolkata, with a 25-bed clinical facility, an outpatient department and day-care services planned at Syama Prasad Mookerjee Superspeciality Hospital.
The agreement, signed on Friday, will bring together IIT Kharagpur’s faculty of integrated health science and technology, TCG Crest’s health science division and the superspeciality hospital for clinical research in specialised cancer care, according to the institutions cited by the Times of India.
The proposed centre is intended to combine research and patient-facing services rather than operate only as a laboratory facility. The 25-bed unit, OPD and day-care components are to be developed within Syama Prasad Mookerjee Superspeciality Hospital, giving the collaboration a direct clinical setting for its work.
Chakraborty, whose first name was not provided in the report, said clinical research would focus on super-specialised cancer care and involve the hospital, TCG Crest and IIT Kharagpur’s health science and technology faculty. The report did not specify the cancer specialities, treatment protocols, construction timeline or estimated cost of the facility.
The collaboration also includes an international faculty component. TCG Crest mentor and vice-chancellor Malabika Sarkar said the institution has a policy for visiting international faculty, with two or three such faculty members having joined. They are expected to spend time at TCG Crest while also working virtually, and will work with both IIT Kharagpur and TCG Crest.
For Kolkata’s healthcare infrastructure, the proposed centre links an academic technology institution, a research-focused organisation and a superspeciality hospital in one project. The arrangement places clinical research alongside inpatient, outpatient and day-care capacity, although the available announcement does not establish how many patients will be treated, when services will begin or whether the facility will be accessible through any public healthcare scheme.
The agreement reflects a model in which specialised healthcare capacity is developed through institutional collaboration. IIT Kharagpur brings its health science and technology faculty into the partnership, while TCG Crest’s health science division and visiting international faculty are expected to support the research programme. The hospital is identified as the site for the clinical facilities.
No further details were provided in the report on governance arrangements, staffing, equipment procurement, patient charges, referral systems or the division of responsibilities among the three participating institutions. Those details will determine how the proposed centre connects research activity with routine cancer care.
The next stage is the development of the 25-bed unit, OPD and day-care facilities at Syama Prasad Mookerjee Superspeciality Hospital. The institutions have not announced a completion date or an operational launch schedule.
