Atomic Energy and Medicine in India

It uses a radiopharmaceutical, a material that analyzes behavior in the body. It can be placed in, for example, a cancerous tumor, which will then shrink or destroy it. Nuclear medicine is critical in finding, treating, and therapeutic uses. This is why the Republic of India believes atomic energy and its uses not only for medicine but also for pacifist services have a major importance. 

In the past two decades, India has experienced an active increase in nuclear medicine. The Republic of India has adopted nuclear medicine as 76% of states and 43% of union territories have a facility that uses nucleology as of November 2018. In September 2023, the country had about 506 nuclear medicine centers performing, 359 PET-CE scanners, and around 788 total nuclear medicine imaging appliances. Medical tourism in India is growing quickly, from 183,000 in 2020 to 304,000 a year later. The market size is expected to be 14.3 billion USD by 2029, with a CAGR of 13.23%. Many foreigners from parts of South Asia that reside in countries with no atomic energy are forced to come to India to get treatments for non-communicable diseases, which makes India a massive contributor to nuclear medicine, along with being responsible for the production of medical radioisotopes since the 1960s. 

India’s atomic energy aspirations started in the last century as on March 23, 1948, Jawaharlal Nehru, the Prime Minister, introduced an Atomic Energy Bill which would be passed as the Indian Atomic Energy Act, which allowed the central government to have control over nuclear science and research for peaceful purposes. A significant advancement in nuclear medicine in India would not have started without Dr. Homi Jehangir Bhabha, who is considered the “Father of the Indian Nuclear Program” and was also the chairman of the Atomic Energy Act. He had been assigned president of “atoms for peace” for the 1st UN Congress in Vienna, Austria, in 1955. Using “atoms for peace” was something said to be done by 34th President Dwight D. Eisenhower at the 1st UN assembly meeting in 1953. As early as March 15, 1955, Trombay would house a reactor to train personnel for reactors in the future and for research isotope production for medical uses, along with agricultural and industrial. “When nuclear energy has been successfully applied for power production in, say, a couple of decades from now, India will not have to look abroad for its experts but will find them ready at hand,” said Homi Jehangir Bhabha when talking about how over the last three decades during this time Indias work on peaceful uses for atomic energy. 

Nuclear medicine in India has been through rapid growth ever since the Atomic Energy Act was passed in 1948. The chairman of the act and “Father of the Indian Nuclear Program,” Homi Jehangir Bhabha, did a tremendous amount for the country and its advancements in this topic, such as working on Compton scattering, R-process, and advancement of nuclear physics, along with being appointed president for the 1st UN Congress in 1955 by president Dwight D. Eisenhower. In recent decades, India’s use of atomic energy for medical purposes has increased significantly. As of November 2018, 22 of 29 states hold a nuclear medicine facility along with 3 of 7 union territories. India also has around 509 active nuclear medicine centers, 359 PET-CE scanners, and 788 total nuclear imaging instruments. The country has also had a large contribution as it is an area many people from South Asia without access to atomic energy go to, making its market size expected to be at 14.3 billion USD by 2029.

Furthermore, the country also contributed to the production of radioisotopes in the 1960s. India trusts that atomic energy has been used for medical purposes and other non-violent uses. The country believes it will continue to do so and show significant advancements in the future with further developments.