Dr Ramdas Pai, Chairman of Manipal Education and Medical Group, today received the Padma Bhushan from Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil, the President of India, for his contributions to the fields of education, healthcare and literature at a ceremony in New Delhi today.
Dr. Ramdas Pai has been at the helm of the Manipal Education and Medical Group for over three decades. Dr. Ramdas Pai - son of the legendry/illustrious founder of Manipal University, Dr. TMA Pai, has played a key role in transforming the Manipal Education and Medical Group into a leading player in the Healthcare and Education sector.
Dr. Ramdas Pai is the Chancellor of Manipal University and is also the Pro Chancellor of the Sikkim Manipal University in Gangtok. He is also a member of the Executive Council of Assam University.
Achievements
Dr. Pai has received several business awards during his distinguished career and has been honoured in recognition of his community service. He was chosen by Ernst & Young as the “Entrepreneur of the Year” in the services category recently.
Dr. Pai spearheaded the expansion plans of the Manipal Group. It was under his leadership that Manipal set up various campuses across the globe including Nepal, Malaysia and the UAE. Dr. Pai was instrumental in conceptualizing, articulating and implementing the Global Delivery Model of Education in Manipal.
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In terms of providing quality medical care, Dr. Pai’s leadership has shaped the Group’s future by expanding from a single Manipal Hospital in Bangalore in 1991 to a multi-location chain of eleven hospitals across seven cities in South India, and rated amongst the best in the country. Under Dr Pai’s guidance, Manipal today has the largest number of medical schools in the country.
Recognition in Industry
A medical graduate of Karnataka University and a postgraduate in Hospital Administration from Temple University, Philadelphia, USA, Dr Ramdas Pai has held several prestigious positions at national level. He was a past member of the Core Group constituted by the Govt. of India to report on the new initiatives on higher education.
The Government of India has recently nominated Dr. Pai as a member of the National Integration Council (NIC), newly re-constituted by the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India. Dr Pai's nomination is recognition of his stature and his personal convictions on such important matters. His name has also been proposed by the Hon’ble Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda for appointment as that country’s first Honorary Consul General in India.
CSR initiatives
Dr. Ramdas Pai’s philanthropreneurial efforts are now channelled through Manipal Foundation. This Foundation, set up by him, keenly pursues several developmental activities, from offering scholarships and freeships worth Rs. 15 crore for meritorious students, to running unique maternal and child welfare homes for the rural population in the region, right upto sponsoring free heart surgeries for children belonging to the lower socio-economic strata. ‘Manipal Arogya Card’, the unique health insurance scheme of Manipal Foundation, covers over 1,00,000 people who live below the poverty line.