The National Cancer Grid (NCG) of India is a collaboration of more than 300 major cancer centres, research institutes, charitable trusts and patient groups, virtually covering the entire length and breadth of the country and is amongst the largest cancer networks in the world. Funded by the Government of India through the Department of Atomic Energy, the NCG has the primary mandate of working towards uniform standards of care across India by adopting evidence-based management guidelines, which are implementable across these centres. It is also intended to facilitate exchange of expertise between centres and to create a ready network of centres for collaborative research in cancer. The NCG is poised to transform the overall spectrum of cancer care, education and research in India and serve as a model for other specialties to emulate. Initiatives of the NCG include adoption of uniform management guidelines for treatment of common cancers in India, institutional peer review, a central “National Cancer Library”, refresher courses in surgical pathology, training in clinical research methods, palliative care, standardization of surgical pathology including immunohistochemistry, radiation oncology quality assurance amongst others.