Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare Jagat Prakash Nadda is scheduled to lay the foundation stone for the ICMR Centre for High Altitude Medicine and Public Health Research in Keylong, Lahaul & Spiti district, Himachal Pradesh, on July 11, 2026. This center, established by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) under the Department of Health Research, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, will transform ICMR’s existing field station at Keylong into a comprehensive hub for research, innovation, and capacity building focusing on India’s high-altitude and climate-sensitive regions.
The Keylong center aims to address the unique public health challenges posed by the Himalayan ecosystem by producing specific scientific evidence and scalable solutions across a broad research spectrum. With its emphasis on high-altitude physiology, mountain medicine, climate-sensitive diseases, and various other health aspects, the center will play a crucial role in enhancing healthcare access and emergency response in challenging terrains.
Given the characteristics of the Himalayan ecosystem, including high altitude, extreme climate conditions, and difficult terrain, the center will concentrate on generating scientific evidence and scalable solutions related to acclimatization, maternal and child health, nutrition, mental health, environmental health, disaster medicine, and more. It will also incorporate digital health platforms, telemedicine, drone-enabled healthcare logistics, and real-time public health surveillance to enhance healthcare services in remote areas.
Year-round access to high-altitude and tribal populations in a strategically significant border region will enable the center to conduct long-term cohort studies and field research on the environmental factors affecting health. Furthermore, the center will collaborate with various entities such as the Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS), the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), the Himachal Pradesh Government, and national and international academic and research institutions to promote translational research and policy development in the field of high-altitude medicine.
