Through different institutions under the Department of Health Research (DHR), as many as 30 new indigenous technologies are being developed and would be launched hopefully this year itself to make diagnosis affordable for the common people.

The development and introduction of affordable and indigenous technologies for public health are being taken up under the newly-launched scheme of establishing Model Rural Health Research Units. The technologies under development include testing strips for diabetics, methods of mosquito control and diagnostic tests for TB, lung fluke, dengue, several other infections and cancer.

The work is progressing as per schedule and work on 30 such technologies expected to be completed by 2014. Under the initiative, Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) institutions, state medical colleges and state health departments will work together to transfer modern, yet affordable technologies for the benefits of larger section of the rural population, sources said.

DHR has rolled out three new schemes recently. These schemes aim to establish multi-disciplinary research units in medical colleges to considerably strengthen the fight against non-communicable diseases; to establish a network of virology laboratories in all government medical colleges as well as national institutions; and establishment of Model Rural Health Research Units.

In 35 government medical colleges MRUs will be established in the current year, of which 21 have already been approved. Sixteen  new bio-safety laboratories for working on viral diseases and TB have been established during last three years and India now has more than 20 such laboratories. To enhance the capacity for control of outbreaks and other serious viral diseases, the infrastructure for diagnosis and research on viral diseases will be created or strengthened in 160 government medical colleges. Five Model Rural Health Research Units have already been approved by the DHR.

Central Government has approved funds for establishing 20 new stand-alone State Cancer Institutes, 23 new Tertiary Cancer Centres and strengthening of existing 27 Regional Cancer Care Centres, across the country. With this initiative, the country will have an additional 70 state of the art tertiary cancer centres in Government sector, when fully established, sources added.