Pariksha SaathiNadda Lays Foundation Stone of ICMR's High Altitude Medicine Research Centre at Keylong, Himachal Pradesh
Union Health Minister J. P. Nadda laid the foundation stone on 12 October 2026 for the ICMR Centre for High Altitude Medicine and Public Health Research at Keylong in Himachal Pradesh's Lahaul and Spiti district. The Centre will grow out of a field station the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) opened in Keylong almost ten years ago, and is planned as a permanent institution working all year round with modern laboratories. Its job will be to build Indian scientific evidence on how high altitude, low oxygen, severe cold and a changing climate affect health — covering acclimatisation, mother and newborn health, child growth and nutrition, and disease patterns among Himalayan communities. A distinctive feature is its partnership with the Armed Forces Medical Services, so that research also serves soldiers posted at extreme altitudes; AIIMS Bilaspur will study the effects on patients from the region. The Centre will also test whether drones, digital health tools and artificial intelligence can improve health care in remote areas. Defence MoS Sanjay Seth and ICMR chief Rajiv Bahl attended. The findings are expected to benefit Himachal Pradesh, Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.
Drafted with AI assistance from the official PIB release linked above and checked against it by a second AI pass. Not line-edited by a human.
Learning context
ICMR traces its origin to the Indian Research Fund Association, set up on 15 November 1911, which was renamed the Indian Council of Medical Research in 1949. It is India's apex body for formulating, coordinating and promoting biomedical research, and its Director General also serves as Secretary of the Department of Health Research in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
Reference: ICMR's official history page
Check yourself: did ICMR begin under its present name in 1911?
No. It began in 1911 as the Indian Research Fund Association (IRFA) and took the name Indian Council of Medical Research only in 1949.
Revision task: list the three institutions partnering in the Keylong centre (ICMR, Armed Forces Medical Services, AIIMS Bilaspur) and note the role this release gives to each.
Test yourself
The ICMR Centre for High Altitude Medicine and Public Health Research, whose foundation stone was laid on 12 October 2026, is coming up at Keylong in which district of Himachal Pradesh?
Show the answer
Answer: Lahaul and Spiti
The Centre at Keylong, in Lahaul and Spiti, will grow out of an ICMR field station and study how altitude, low oxygen, cold and climate change affect health, in partnership with the Armed Forces Medical Services.
Read the daily collection → · Editorial standards & corrections