SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir is projected to witness a steady rise in cancer cases, with the estimated annual incidence increasing from 13,060 in 2021 to 14,493 in 2025, according to data placed before the Lok Sabha by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
Responding to an unstarred question in the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Health Prataprao Jadhav said the estimates are based on the Indian Council of Medical Research’s (ICMR) National Cancer Registry Programme (NCRP), which has assessed the state and Union Territory-wise cancer burden for the period 2021-2025.
The data shows that the estimated number of cancer cases in Jammu and Kashmir has risen consistently over the five-year period—from 13,060 in 2021 to 13,395 in 2022, 13,744 in 2023, 14,112 in 2024 and 14,493 in 2025.
The Centre informed Parliament that cancer screening for oral, breast and cervical cancers is being carried out under the National Programme for Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases (NP-NCD). People aged above 30 years are screened at Ayushman Arogya Mandirs by trained ASHA workers and Auxiliary Nurse Midwives (ANMs).
The ministry also said 524 Day Care Cancer Centres are operational across the country to improve access to cancer care at the district hospital level, while 770 District NCD Clinics and 6,410 NCD clinics at Community Health Centres have been established under the programme.
In its reply, the government said a nationwide Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination campaign was launched on February 28, 2026, targeting around 1.2 crore eligible girls aged 14 years across all States and Union Territories to help prevent cervical cancer.
The ministry further stated that cancer treatment is covered under the Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY), which provides health insurance coverage of up to Rs 5 lakh per family annually. It added that free diagnostics, essential anti-cancer medicines, State Cancer Institutes, Tertiary Care Cancer Centres and expanded surveillance under the NCRP are part of the government’s strategy to improve cancer care and early detection across the country.
