The National Cancer Grid (NCG) Annual Meet 2025, held on August 2nd and 3rd, brought together over 300 participants from across India and beyond—clinical leaders, hospital directors, researchers, policymakers, and digital health innovators—to reflect, learn, and chart the course ahead for cancer care.
Over two high-energy days, the event sparked meaningful conversations, celebrated milestones, and advanced shared goals for improving the quality, equity, and efficiency of oncology services.
The first day opened with a powerful overview of the year’s progress by Dr. C.S. Pramesh, followed by focused updates on NCG’s flagship initiatives—including EQuIP, pooled procurement, pathology quality assurance, digital oncology, and more.
Highlights included:
Announcements on national and global partnerships, including the NCG-MeitY MoU to advance AI in oncology, and ongoing collaborations with ASCO, NCI (US), ARGO, AORTIC, and the Armed Forces Medical Services.
A thought-provoking fireside keynote on "Transforming Healthcare with Technology and Innovation", featuring Dr. Pramod Varma, Mr. Rizwan Koita, and Mr. Kiran Anandampillai.
Breakout sessions diving deep into crucial themes: palliative care, AI/ML, mental health, training, patient advocacy, and global collaborations.
One of the key highlights of Day 1 was the official launch of the AI CATCH Grant, in the presence of Shri Abhishek Singh (Additional Secretary, MeitY)—a landmark initiative to catalyze AI-powered innovations in cancer care.
The second day focused on sharing insights and defining collective priorities.
Key sessions included:
Group-wise debriefs from Day 1 breakout sessions
A first-of-its-kind rapid-fire sharing round where NCG members showcased real-world practices worth replicating
An engaging Mentimeter session where attendees voted live to identify key priorities for NCG in the coming year
The day culminated in a moving NCG Lifetime Achievement Awards 2024–25 ceremony, honouring stalwarts of Indian and global oncology:
Professor Rajendra A. Badwe (Former Director, Tata Memorial Centre)
Professor G.K. Rath ( Former Director, IRCH, AIIMS, New Delhi | Former Head, National Cancer Institute, Jhajjar)
Professor Suresh H. Advani (Former Head, Medical Oncology, Tata Memorial Centre)
Professor Julie Gralow (Chief Medical Officer, Executive Vice President, American Society of Clinical Oncology)
These leaders have shaped cancer care in remarkable ways and continue to inspire generations of practitioners.
A major value add this year came from the peer-to-peer reflections by experienced clinical practitioners from across NCG Centres and private institutes. Their insights—on patient load growth, regulatory compliance, drug availability, and hospital operations—helped newer member institutions understand ground realities and identify practical solutions. These open exchanges continue to be one of the most powerful levers of knowledge-sharing within the NCG network.
For the first time, NCG-empanelled EMR vendors participated in the Annual Meet—creating space for direct, meaningful conversations with hospital directors. These interactions are an important step toward accelerating adoption of oncology-specific EMRs and building digital maturity across the NCG network.
The energy and enthusiasm at this year’s meet reflects the growing momentum behind NCG’s mission. At NCG-KCDO, we remain committed to translating these conversations into action—working closely with hospitals, vendors, and the wider ecosystem to build scalable, tech-enabled, and patient-centric cancer care models.
We thank everyone who made the NCG Annual Meet 2025 a successful event
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Until next time!
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