R & D or Wasteful expenditure? | R&D Myth Vs Reality

Case Study | Cancer Detection Project | CerviSCAN

Summary
This blog post discusses about some of the  findings received  based on the RTI request filed regarding the Cancer detection project CerviSCAN . All the Relevant RTI request , reply documents and links are attached towards the end of this post.

Cancer is a dreaded disease killing lakhs of people worldwide every year. With improvements in treatment facilities, there is a greater chance of survival now a days. However, such treatments are extremely expensive and out of reach of most people in developing countries like India. Besides many times, cancer is detected too late and even the best treatments are not able save the life. Fortunately some cancers are easily preventable if detected at early stages. One such is Cervical Cancer, which is also the second most common cancer among women killing more than 2.5 lakh each year. Nearly 70,000 of these deaths occur in India, i.e. 25% of all cervical cancer deaths occur in India alone. Most western countries have recognized the importance of early detection and prevention decades back. They have implemented screening programs for cervical cancer and other cancers and have been able to bring down the incidence and cancer related deaths. These programs are effectively implemented under Govt control or supervision, thereby saving thousands of lives in those of countries. It is also economical to detect these cancers at early stage, than to spend thousand times more to cure it.

Some initiatives were taken in India under the Department of Information Technology (now Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, MeitY) to develop an system for early detection of cervical cancer under a project funded to Centre for Development of Advanced Computing, Trivandrum, Regional Cancer Centre, Trivandrum and Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur in 2009. According to an RTI reply obtained in 2012, this project was funded till September 2012 with an objective to develop an automated system for early detection of cervical cancer with a funding of Rs.249.58 Lakhs. 

A new RTI was filed in 2016 to enquire the current status and outcome of the project and how it has benefitted the society. The officials in MeitY have cleverly dodged the questions asked and given some contradictory replies. They state that the project was ‘successfully’ completed in September 2012, has met ALL project objectives and there is 100% return on investment. Ironically they also admit that from 2013 onwards NOBODY has benefitted from this project and it was NOT DEPLOYED in any hospital. If the solution developed through this project was not deployed anywhere and nobody has benefited from it, how can it be called successfully completed?  Was there any monitoring of the project by the MeitY. They refused to provide the minutes of the review committee meeting even after filing an RTI appeal with the First Appellate Authority.

2.5 crore rupees was spent on this project. It is a huge amount in the Indian context. Conventional PAP smear based screening costs only Rs.250 or so per patient. i.e. with 2.5 crore rupees 1 lakh women could have been screened in the conventional methods. In the last 4 years more than 2 lakh women have died from cervical cancer in India alone. Here one project was funded with the objective of developing a low cost solution for early detection of cervical cancer and even after 4 years of ‘successfully’ completing the project, not even a single woman has benefitted from it. Who is to be held accountable? This was questioned in the same RTI application as to what action has been taken against the erring officials, for which they have cleverly replied that ‘deployment’ of the technology was not in the scope of the project. What then was the real objective of the project? If 2.5 crores was sanctioned to develop an early cancer detection solution which did not have a scope to be deployed anywhere, what was the purpose to fund the project in the first place. Was it just to waste public money in the name of research? Or was there any vested interest involved. Why is MeitY refusing to provide all the requested details? What are they hiding from us?

And this is just the tip of the iceberg. The original RTI filed in 2012, shows that crores of rupees worth of many such projects are funded to CDAC, IIT and other R&D organizations. Does the public not have the right to know how their tax money is being wasted in the name of R&D?

Annexure

1. Copy of the RTI Request

2.Copy of the RTI Reply

3, Copy of the "Closing PRSG meeting" Document Request

4.PRSG meeting Response Docuemnt

Other Information

1. Completed Project details from Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology Site


http://meity.gov.in/content/projects-1
see sl.no 15 in completed projects
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