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The Union ministry of health has informed that the foundation stone laying ceremony of the ICMR Centre for High Altitude Medicine and Public Health Research at Keylong, Lahaul & Spiti district, Himachal Pradesh, scheduled to be held on 11th July, 2026, has been postponed due to adverse weather conditions.
The decision has been taken in view of the prevailing adverse weather conditions in the region, including continuous heavy rainfall and landslides, which have affected accessibility and safety. A revised date for the event will be communicated in due course, said the Ministry.
The Centre, being set up by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) under the Department of Health Research, ministry of health & family welfare, will upgrade ICMR's existing field station at Keylong into a full-fledged, multidisciplinary hub for research, innovation and capacity building focused on India's high-altitude and climate-sensitive regions, said the Ministry earlier.
Located in Lahaul & Spiti, the Centre will have year-round access to high-altitude and tribal populations in a strategically important border region, enabling long-term cohort studies and field research on environmental determinants of health. It is expected to support national priorities in tribal health, disaster preparedness and digital health innovation, while feeding into global research on high-altitude medicine.
The Centre will build institutional collaborations with the Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS), the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), the Himachal Pradesh Government, and academic and research institutions in India and abroad, creating an ecosystem for translational research and policy support. The initiative advances the Government's Atmanirbhar Bharat vision in health research and its broader push for climate-resilient, inclusive health systems.
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