Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has approved a comprehensive overhaul of the Cancer Treatment and Management Fund for the Poor (CTMFP), aimed at making financial assistance more accessible to economically weaker cancer patients. The revised scheme increases the income eligibility limit and raises the amount of assistance available to eligible beneficiaries.
Under the revamped scheme, the annual income eligibility ceiling has been increased to Rs 4 lakh, while financial assistance has been enhanced to Rs 75,000. Beneficiaries will also be eligible for repeat assistance for up to three sanctions, providing greater support to patients requiring continued treatment.
The revised programme also expands the network of hospitals covered under the scheme. Treatment will now be supported at all hospitals empanelled under PMJAY-SEHAT, giving eligible patients a wider choice of healthcare facilities for cancer treatment and management.
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To reduce delays in receiving financial support, assistance will be transferred directly into beneficiaries’ bank accounts through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT). The Chief Minister’s Office indicated that the reforms are intended to make the scheme more efficient and patient-centric while improving access to timely financial assistance.
The changes come against the backdrop of a rising cancer burden in Jammu and Kashmir. Data from the National Cancer Registry Programme tabled in Parliament estimated 68,804 cancer cases in the Union Territory between 2021 and 2025. Annual estimated cases increased from 13,060 in 2021 to 14,493 in 2025, representing an increase of around 11 per cent over the five-year period.
Cancer patterns also vary between men and women in the region. Among men, stomach cancer is reported as the most common malignancy, followed by lung cancer, while breast cancer is the most common cancer among women, with stomach cancer ranking second. Dietary habits, smoking, lifestyle changes and environmental factors have been identified by experts as among the factors associated with the rising cancer burden in Jammu and Kashmir.
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