Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan laid the Foundation Stone of Gangwal School of Medical Sciences and Technology and Yadupati Singhania Super Specialty Hospital at IIT Kanpur on 16th July, 2022

Kanpur : Union Minister of Education, and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship Shri Dharmendra Pradhan today laid the foundation stone of the Gangwal School of Medical Sciences and Technology and Yadupati Singhania Super Speciality Hospital at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur campus.  The ceremony was also graced by Dr K Radhakrishnan, Chairman, Board of Governors, IIT Kanpur, and by major donors, alumni, and other invited dignitaries.

IIT Kanpur, with its expertise in research and innovation and technological prominence, is establishing one-of-its-kind medical school on its campus. This School is envisioned in line with IIT Kanpur’s endeavor to bring about a paradigm shift by merging medical research and technological innovations. The school is now being named ‘The Gangwal School of Medical Sciences and Technology’ to honor the generous contribution of a distinguished alumnus Mr. Rakesh Gangwal, Co-Founder, Indigo Airlines.

Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, Hon’ble Union Minister of Education, and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship said, “I congratulate IIT Kanpur family on this momentous occasion. The establishment of this one-of-a-kind GSMST will strengthen the healthcare ecosystem and delivery in the country and also establish Kanpur as an epicenter of affordable and futuristic solutions for emerging economies. Philanthropic efforts, like these at IIT Kanpur will bridge the gap between healthcare and engineering disciplines, provide affordable technological solutions and also inspire other philanthropists and academic institutes to develop similar institutions for the welfare of society. IIT Kanpur today must endeavour to find efficient and cost-effective solutions for fighting climate change, waste-to-wealth creation, alternative green energy and also for developing new business models for circular economy. IIT Kanpur has been a pioneer in the field of engineering education in the last six decades. IIT Kanpur has been sensitive to the emerging needs of society and has been actively contributing to supporting national missions and building an Aatmanirbhar Bharat. In the Amrit Kaal, we have to build a generation that keeps societal and national interests at the forefront. With research, innovation & entrepreneurship as a bedrock, IIT Kanpur family should aim to further ease-of-living and develop viable solutions for humanity’s welfare.”

Prof. Abhay Karandikar, Director, IIT Kanpur said, “We are extremely grateful to Hon’ble Union Minister of Education, and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan ji for laying the Foundation Stone of our ambitious project – The Gangwal School of Medical Sciences and Technology. We all had a dream to set up a Medical School on IIT Kanpur campus, for the benefit of people, and the nation, at large. Today, we’re glad to be at the threshold of this project. IIT Kanpur is resolute to provide critical healthcare needs and to accelerate research and innovation in the MedTech domain for ensuring all-round development in the medical sector of the country. The Gangwal School and Yadupati Singhania Super Speciality Hospital are envisaged to bridge the gap between medical and technology disciplines, and we believe we’d achieve the Atmanirbhar Bharat vision of our Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji.”

Prof. Subramaniam Ganesh, Deputy Director, IIT Kanpur, who also heads the Task Force for establishing the school said, “Today is a very special day for IIT Kanpur as Union Minister of Education, and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship Shri Dharmendra Pradhan ji laid the Foundation Stone of our Medical School project. Our vision is to create an ecosystem where quality and affordable healthcare is provided to all, and at the same time, advanced and futuristic innovations in the MedTech domain take place. This will help us take strides in making India self-reliant in healthcare.”

The Gangwal School of Medical Sciences and Technology will be completed in two phases. Phase I of the project will include setting up the 450+ bedded Yadupati Singhania Super-Specialty Hospital, a 50-bedded Center for Cancer Care and Research, Academic Block, Residential/Hostel, and Service Block with a total built-up area of approximately 8,10,000 sq ft. Phase I will also include setting up Centers of Excellence (CoE) for pursuing R&D activities in futuristic medicine. This phase is tentatively planned to be completed over the next 3-5 years. The Phase II of the project will see the hospital capacity grow to 1000 beds, expansion in clinical departments/centers, research areas, the inclusion of paramedical disciplines, alternative medicine, hospital management, sports medicine, and public health programs. The Phase II is planned to be completed over a period of 7-10 years. The Super Speciality Hospital is being built with CSR support from JK Cements Ltd. The Academic block and Residential blocks for the resident doctors are being built with CSR grants from IBM India Pvt Ltd and REC Foundation, respectively.

IIT Kanpur would offer interdisciplinary research programs aimed at developing solutions to India-centric problems, especially to cater to affordable healthcare needs. The students will be exposed to real-world problems in the healthcare sector and will have immersive learning to identify problems to address. The medical School with the super-specialty hospital is expected to serve the large underprivileged population in and around Kanpur. The Yadupati Singhania Super Speciality Hospital along with world-class faculty on board of the Medical School, will offer affordable treatment in super specialties like oncology, joint replacement, cardiac surgery, endocrinology neurosciences, etc, to over 4 million people residing in 300 Km radius of Kanpur. Besides, the school would also take up research in public health issues and help the government in an epidemiological survey, forecast, and strategic plans using innovative mathematical and computational tools. Apart from these, the School will help in developing affordable devices, technologies, and engineering solutions to unmet medical needs of the country, especially in rural areas.

The Foundation Stone Laying Ceremony was attended by donors, alumni, advisory board members of the Medical School, Ministry Officials, members of Kanpur City administration, city doctors, healthcare officials, collaborators from other institutes and industries, and so on. Few of the donors who attended the occasion include Mr. Rakesh Gangwal, Co-Founder, IndiGo Airlines; Mr. Muktesh Pant, Founder, Micky and Vinita Pant Charitable Foundation; Mr. Hemant Jalan, Founder, Indigo Paints Ltd; Mr. Gaurav Sharma, Vice President, IBM India Software Labs; Dr. Nidhipati Singhania, Vice Chairman, JK Cements Ltd.; Dr. Raghavpat Singhania, MD, JK Cements Ltd; Mrs. Sushila Devi Singhania, Chairperson, JK Cements Ltd; REC Foundation team, and so on. Other notable members who attended the ceremony include Mr. Saurabh Chandra, IAS, Former Secretary, GoI, Mr. Gautam Khanna, CEO, P.D. Hinduja Hospital, Dr. Vikram Mathews, Department of Haematology, CMC Vellore, to name a few.