Tata Trusts, Google In Talks For cancer care pact

Tata Trusts and search engine Google are exploring options to use the tech giant’s latest solutions to access primary health and cancer care for the poor in India.

Tata Trusts chairman Ratan Tata met Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin along with chief executive Sundar Pichai at their headquarters in California to discuss the future collaboration.

Pichai led his senior colleagues to give Tata an overview of how their latest technology developments can impact society. Among the topics discussed included trends in machine learning and increasing access to the Internet in India. In cancer care, Tata Trusts’ objectives include early detection and prevention to bring about a significant improvement in survival outcomes and decrease in health expenditure.

The cancer mortality rate in India is estimated to be as high as 70%. Tata Trusts is partnering with state governments to set up cancer hospitals so that patients, particularly the economically challenged, do not have to travel to the handful existing ones, incurring debilitating expenditures.