Our chairman

Chairman, Apollo Group Hospitals

Dr.Prathap C Reddy, the visionary Founder Chairman of Apollo Hospitals, is widely credited as being the architect of modern Indian healthcare. He is best described as a compassionate humanitarian, who has dedicated his life to bringing world-class health care within the economic and geographic reach of millions of patients. The institution he built and the values and vision he inculcated led the private healthcare revolution that transformed the Indian healthcare landscape. It was Dr. Reddy’s vision to build a business model with an intrinsic ‘social conscience’. Apollo Hospitals opened its doors in 1983 and introduced international quality healthcare to India, at a cost that was a tenth of comparable costs in the Western world. This was Apollo’s first act of social responsibility and the Group has stayed true to Dr. Reddy’s vision in its journey of over three decades.

The business model designed by him was inherently scalable, replicable and sustainable and fostered the emergence of the healthcare sector in India, as we know it today. Dr. Reddy’s vision, acumen, and the ideal of uncompromised quality motivated numerous individuals in India and across the world to set forth, emulate the model and take care closer to their patients. Dr. Reddy has carried the torch of healthcare to distant corners of India. Always the visionary, he has harnessed technology and insurance to reach healthcare to the masses. The pioneering success of telemedicine and innovative insurance in Aragonda, the world’s first V-SAT enabled village in remote Seemandhra validates the concept of ‘Healthcare for All’.

Recognising that telemedicine can help meet the increasing demand for universal access to high-quality medicine, irrespective of geography, Dr. Reddy led his team to set up 125 telemedicine centers across seven countries. Dr. Reddy was at the helm of the revolutionary Reach Hospitals initiative from Apollo – taking world-class healthcare to tier II towns. This blueprint is carrying good health to the very heart of India.

A tireless advocate for creating access through insurance, Dr. Reddy firmly believes that mandatory health insurance is critical for the nation and has been actively campaigning for its implementation across the country. The innovative insurance project, at a cost of Rs.1 a day that he introduced in his native village decades ago, paved the way for many more products for rural India. This project has been adopted in multiple ways across the country and created the platform for the Government of India’s Universal Health Insurance programme for below-the-poverty-line population.

Nurturing change towards preventive healthcare, Dr.Prathap Reddy passionately propagated Preventive Healthcare with the concept of Annual Health Checks. As a cardiologist, he recognized that the battle against disease had to go beyond hospitals and envisioned the Billion Hearts Beating campaign, an endeavor that deploys innovative mediums to encourage Indians to stay heart-healthy.

In service to his nation, Dr. Reddy has also been the Chairman of the Confederation of Indian Industry’s National Health Council and advisor to its committees on Healthcare, Health Insurance, Public Health and Pharma.

Dr. Prathap C Reddy was pivotal in the genesis of NATHEALTH – the Healthcare Federation of India. He envisioned the creation of NATHEALTH as the collective and credible voice to shape Indian healthcare.

NATHEALTH is today emerging as one of the nation’s most powerful and influential forums in facilitating the shift in mindset, delivery, and policy-making to nurture the gift of good health for all in our country. It embodies the collaborative power of Indian healthcare stakeholders in their mission to address the urgent priorities and redefine the healthcare ecosystem of the nation.

Dr. Reddy’s incredible journey is captured through a biography entitled “Healer: Dr.Prathap Chandra Reddy and the Transformation of India,” authored by Pranay Gupte, veteran international journalist, biographer and historian, and published by Penguin, the world’s largest publisher.

A dedicated philanthropist, Dr. Reddy introduced social initiatives that helped transcend barriers and a notable example is the Save a Child’s Heart Initiative that is addressing the widespread issue of congenital heart disease in India.

Dr.Prathap C Reddy was conferred the ‘Padma Vibhushan’ the second highest civilian award. This unequaled commendation from the Government of India is an acknowledgment of his untiring pursuit for excellence in healthcare.

Highlights:

1991 – Conferred the Padma Bhushan by the Government of India
1992 – Invited by the Government of India to be member of the Working Group on Health Financing and Management
1993 – The Mother St.Teresa’s ‘Citizen of the Year’ award
1997 – Business India —Top 50 personalities who made a difference to India since Independence
1998 – Sir NilrattanSircar Memorial Oration (JIMA) award for single-handedly making super speciality care available to a vast section of society
2000 – Conferred the Fellowship Ad Hominem by the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh
2001 – Ernst & Young ‘Entrepreneur of the Year’ award
2002 – Lifetime Achievement Award by the Hospimedica International
2004 – Franchise Award for Excellence in Business Development
2005 – The ‘Asia – Pacific Bio leadership Award’ by the Marshall School of Business
Appointed as a Member of the Indo – US CEO’s Forum by the Prime Minister of India
2006 – ‘Modern Medicare Excellence Award 2006’, by the ICICI Group, for his outstanding achievements in the healthcare industry
2007 – Appointed Chairman of the CII National Healthcare Committee
2009 – The Government of India honours Apollo Hospitals with a Commemorative Postage Stamp
2010 – Govt. of India conferred the Padma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian award in India
Lifetime Achievement Award from Rotary International and Frost & Sullivan
2011 – Lifetime Achievement award from the FICCI
Lifetime Contribution Award from AIMA
2012 – Apollo Hospitals was the winner of G20 Challenge on Inclusive Business Innovation for the Apollo Reach Hospitals initiative
2013 – NDTV Indian Lifetime Achievement Award
Asian Business Leaders Lifetime Achievement award
CNBC TV18 Lifetime Achievement Award for India Business Leaders Awards 2013