JP Nadda to lay foundation stone of ICMR's high-altitude research centre in Himachal Pradesh
New Delhi, July 9
Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare Jagat Prakash Nadda will lay the foundation stone of the ICMR Centre for High Altitude Medicine and Public Health Research at Keylong in Lahaul & Spiti district, Himachal Pradesh, on July 11, 2026, an official statement said on Thursday.
The Centre will upgrade ICMR's existing field station at Keylong into a full-fledged, multidisciplinary hub for research, innovation and capacity building focused on India's high-altitude and climate-sensitive regions.
The Centre is being set up by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) under the Department of Health Research, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare.
As the Himalayan ecosystem poses distinct public health challenges, the Keylong centre will generate context-specific scientific evidence and scalable solutions across a wide research mandate, the statement from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said.
Himalayan ecosystem is marked by high altitude, extreme climatic conditions, difficult terrain and rising climate variability - that shape disease patterns, healthcare access and emergency response.
Hence, the Centre will generate scientific evidence and scalable solutions relevant to high-altitude physiology and acclimatisation, mountain medicine, climate-sensitive and emerging diseases, infectious and non-communicable diseases, maternal and child health, nutrition, mental health, environmental and occupational health, and disaster medicine.
It will also integrate digital health platforms, telemedicine, drone-enabled healthcare logistics and real-time public health surveillance to improve delivery in hard-to-reach areas.
The Centre will have year-round access to high-altitude and tribal populations in a strategically important border region, enabling long-term cohort studies and field research on environmental determinants of health.
It will support national priorities in tribal health, disaster preparedness and digital health innovation, while feeding into global research on high-altitude medicine.
The Centre will build institutional collaborations with the Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS), the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), the Himachal Pradesh Government, and academic and research institutions in India and abroad, creating an ecosystem for translational research and policy support, the statement noted.
— IANS
Reader Comments
As someone from Himachal, I'm thrilled! Keylong is remote and harsh, but this centre can bring healthcare innovation to our region. The inclusion of telemedicine and drone logistics is smart - that'll actually help people in hard-to-reach villages. Hope they also focus on mental health issues which are often ignored in high-altitude areas.
Good initiative by the government. The collaboration with DRDO and Armed Forces makes perfect sense - they've been dealing with high-altitude challenges for decades. This kind of research hub in a strategic border region also sends a strong message about India's commitment to healthcare infrastructure in the Himalayas.
While this is great, I hope they don't forget about basic healthcare needs of local populations first. Telemedicine is good but what about actual hospitals and doctors in these areas? Research is important but people still struggle to get even primary care in Lahaul-Spiti during winter.
This is exactly the kind of infrastructure India needs - research focused on our specific geographical challenges. The high-altitude medicine and climate-sensitive disease research will have global significance too. 🇮🇳 Proud that ICMR is thinking beyond metros and into the Himalayas.
I work in health research and this is a significant step. Long-term cohort studies in high-altitude tribal populations will provide invaluable data on diseases, nutrition, and aging. The drone logistics for remote healthcare delivery is especially innovative for India. Let's hope it gets adequate funding and staffing.
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