New Delhi, December 8
Rajya Sabha MP Kartikeya Sharma today endorsed the Health Security se National Security Cess Bill, calling it a timely intervention at a moment when India’s public health indicators demand bold, well-financed action. He said the Bill reflects a clear policy shift: healthcare is no longer viewed as a cost, but as a strategic investment in the nation’s future. By placing a cess on harmful products with proven links to severe health outcomes, and then channeling that revenue directly into health programmes, the government has created a model that is both fair and future-oriented.
India’s cancer challenge is becoming a national security concern, Sharma noted that India records over 14 lakh new cancer cases every year and nearly 9 lakh deaths, according to the National Cancer Registry Programme. Between 1990 and 2023, cancer incidence has risen 26 percent and mortality 21 percent, a trajectory that, he said, demands urgent structural intervention. He pointed out that breast cancer alone accounts for 27 percent of all female cancer cases in India, while cervical cancer continues to claim 70–77 thousand lives every year, with more than 80 percent of detections happening in late stages. In Haryana, cervical cancer contributes 12–14 percent of all women’s cancer cases, affecting rural and economically weaker women who often have limited access to regular healthcare services.
Sharma underlined that the philosophical backbone of the Prime Minister’s broader vision of Swasth Nari Shashakt Abhiyaan. The idea is simple yet transformative: if women are healthy, families get stronger; and when families are strong, the nation becomes resilient.
This, he said, is not just a slogan. It is the governing spirit behind some of the most impactful health and social-welfare initiatives of recent years. A model for community-driven women’s healthcare,
Sharma elaborated that this national philosophy inspired him to conceptualise and launch the NaMo Shakti Rath in Haryana. The initiative brings preventive healthcare to the doorstep of women who often cannot spare the time, money or mobility to get screened for Breast and Cervical cancers – diseases often considered to be a taboo to even talk about.
