India was home to 57.50 million cases of diabetes in 2025 claiming for it the dubious distinction of Diabetes capital of the world. Diabetic Nephropathy accounts for 35% of End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD). About 10 – 15% of ESRD patients alone have access to any form of long term renal replacement therapy. Diabetes and Hypertension together account for chronic kidney diseases. 75% of the new cases are related to Diabetes. The Pradhan Mantri National Dialysis Programme (PMNDP) was launched in 2016-17. It added peritoneal dialysis in 2020. It is covered in 36 states and union territories, in 751 districts with 1704 dialysis centres. 26.70 lakh patients availed the services during the last year. Every year about 2.2 Lakh new patients with end-stage renal disease get added in India resulting in additional demand for 3.4 crore dialysis each year. There are about 3000 Nephrologists in the country. With a machine on an average doing 1000 procedures per year, we need an additional 34000 dialysis stations per year. There is a wide and yawning gap between the technicians required to serve the Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) patients and that available. The need for training and augmenting the technician resources needs no emphasis. That singularly justifies this proactive step that the Sabha has taken to set up the Dialysis Technician Training School. Even with 50 technicians being turned out in the beginning every year, a useful addition to the skilled workforce in Dialysis across the city would be achieved.

RBL Bank Ltd. has supported this initiative with a generous CSR grant of Rs. 25 lakhs per year for three years certain. The School itself has been named as Sri Shanmukhananda RBL Bank Dialysis Technician Training School. Shri. R. Subramaniakumar, Managing Director and CEO of the bank inaugurated the School on 21st February 2026. It was followed by a formal launch function in the Sabha.