Mumbai, Jan 3 : NTPC Limited has signed a memorandum of agreement (MoA) with Gujarat Cancer and Research Institute (GCRI) for the upgradation of radiotherapy services, it was announced on Saturday.

According to a Ministry of Power statement, NTPCâ??s Western Regionâ??I Headquarters, Mumbai, signed the MoA. Under this CSR initiative, NTPC has sanctioned Rs 23.16 crore for the upgradation of radiotherapy services at the Siddhpur Satellite Centre of GCRI, Ahmedabad.

â??The support will be utilised for the procurement and installation of a high-energy Linear Accelerator (LINAC), significantly enhancing advanced cancer treatment capabilities and improving access to quality radiotherapy services for patients in the region,â?? according to the official statement.

This reaffirms NTPCâ??s commitment to inclusive development and its continued focus on strengthening critical healthcare infrastructure through meaningful CSR interventions.

The MoA was exchanged between Dr. Shashank Pandya, Director, GCRI, and E. Satya Phani Kumar, Regional Executive Director (Westâ??I), NTPC, in the presence of senior officials from both organisations.

Late last month, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay and NTPC completed the drilling of India's first well for testing the viability of geological carbon dioxide (CO2) storage in sedimentary formations such as coal and sandstone.

The collaboration, launched under the aegis of NITI Aayog in November 2022, brought together NETRA - the R&D wing of NTPC, and the Department of Earth Sciences, IIT Bombay, to build India's first geological storage atlas for coalbed methane-rich coalfields.

The atlas provided layer-by-layer simulation results with experimentally validated inputs for quantifying the potential for geological CO2 storage in four major coalfields.

The country achieved its first dedicated well, reaching a depth of 1200m in September, for potential CO2 storage. The drilling site in Pakri Barwadih, in the vicinity of a coal mining area in Jharkhand's Hazaribagh, was completed on November 15.

/IANS