Mr. T S Krishnamurthy

Taruvai Subayya Krishnamurthy (born 1941) was the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) of India (February 2004-May 2005). His main assignment as CEC was to oversee the 2004 elections to the Lok Sabha.
He had earlier served in the Election Commission of India as a commissioner since January 2000.
Krishnamurthy started his career as an Indian Revenue Service officer. He served the government at various levels including as Secretary, Department of Company Affairs. He was the first Indian Revenue Service officer to become Secretary to the Government of India as well as Chief Election Commissioner of India. Krishnamurthy started his career as a probationary officer of the Bank of India (prior to nationalization) at the age of 19. He joined the Indian Revenue Service in the batch of 1963 subsequent to which he was posted as Income Tax Officer in Madras. Having served number of ministries in New Delhi including Shipping and Finance, he was deputed as a Deputy General Manager with the Hindustan Shipyard Limited in Vizag. One of the key jobs he has handled was that of Chief Commissioner of Income Tax in Bombay.
He has also served as an IMF advisor in Ethiopia and Georgia. As Chief Election Commissioner he was an observer to the elections in Zimbabwe and the US Presidential Elections in 2004.In 2005, Krishnamurthy was appointed by the Supreme Court of India to conduct the elections to the all power Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in order to ensure free and fair polls amidst the different factions within the BCCI.
An excellent student, Krishnamurthy won gold medals in History, Economics and Political Science at Mysore University. He has also completed a Masters in Fiscal Studies from the University of Bath, U.K
Krishnamurthy is married to Geetha Krishnamurthy, an accomplished veena artiste from Chennai. He is the author of the book - "Miracles of Democracy" which was released in August 2008.

Mr. Soorya Krishnamoorthy

Nataraja Krishnamoorthy, better known as Soorya Krishnamoorthy, is the founder-director of the SOORYA Stage and Film Society. The Society, based in Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum), India promotes Indian arts and culture and is now renowned for organizing the Soorya Festival - the longest and one of the most prestigious cultural events in India - conducted annually and now lasting for more than a hundred days in which the finest and most accomplished artists in Indian classical dances and music participate. Over the years since its inception, Soorya has opened chapters in Singapore, Malaysia, London (U.K),Manchester(U.K), Zurich (Switzerland), Vienna (Austria), Rome (Italy), Koln (Germany), Dublin (Ireland), Bahrain, Kuwait, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Muscat, Doha, and Saudi Arabia. Soorya has the professed aim of disseminating Indian Culture and achieving "Integration through Culture".
Soorya Krishnamoorthy is a pioneer of the Light and Sound show in Malayalam. He has also ventured in to the first ever mobile Light and Sound Show and a new theatrical art form - "THEATRE OF FREEDOM". This theatre movement also has completed 30 years. He has also written, conceived and directed various stage shows.

Personal Profile
Soorya Krishnamoorthy was born on the 11 April 1951, in Kottayam District of Kerala State in a family of renowned Engineers, belonging to the erstwhile Travancore State. Father Nataraja Pillai was the Chief Engineer of Kerala State. Mother, Saraswathi Amma, was an active member of the Gandhi peace foundation.
Scholastic Record
He did his schooling in Government Model High School, Trivandrum, Kerala, and pursued his pre-degree in Government Arts College and later graduated as a Bachelor of Engineering, from TKM College of Engineering, Kollam, in 1971.
His achievements during pre-degree, include, becoming the secretary general of the College Union, winning with a record majority of votes in the Kerala University and representing the Kerala State and Kerala University for Badminton(shuttle).
Professional Record
He joined the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) as a scientist/engineer in 1972, where he worked under scientists such as, Bharat Ratna A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, C. R. Sathya, Padmashri M. R. Kurup, Padmashri Dr. V. R. Gowarikar, Padmashri S. Srinivasan- and the like, for a period of 27 years.
Soorya and Limca
As per the Limca Book of World Records : Soorya Krishnamoorthy - Man of the Year 2003. Soorya is the largest cultural society of Asia. Soorya Festival is the largest and the longest Festival of Asia (75 continuous days)
Art and Culture
Soorya Krishnamoorthy brought Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, in to the Cultural and Film Map of India, through various cultural and film festivals. The 75 day long Soorya India Festival is a major festival in India today. Thiruvananthapuram becomes the Cultural Capital of India during this event. He conceptualized and started the Tourism Week Celebrations for the Govt. of Kerala in 1980 and the celebrations continue every year in the same design till date. He served as the director of the Kerala State Film Development Corporation, 3 terms in succession. He has also been the member of the National Film Award jury, the Kerala State Film Award jury, the NFDC Script Committee and the National jury for selecting Indian Panorama films. In 2006, he was the Chairman, Film Awards Jury of John Abraham Awards and P Padmarajan Award. He has also been a member of the Doordarshan Advisory Committee, the Expert Committee of the Department of Culture, Govt. of India and the steering committee formed by the Department of Culture, Govt. of India to evolve the cultural policy of the country. He contributed for the upliftment of the young talents in the field of art and culture & also for the presentation, promotion and preservation of folk arts of Kerala.
He was the Chairman for Asianet Film Awards, the Executive committee Member, Kerala State Chalachithra Academy, Chief Co-ordinator of Kerala State Film Awards 2001 & Kerala State Television Awards 2002, Vice Chairman of Kerala State Chalachithra Academy and Executive Member of Vylopilli Samskrithi Bhavan.
Awards and Honours
The prominent awards and honours include...
YEAR Award Conferred by
1994 "Prathiba Pranam" Award for Out-standing Creative Artiste Government of Kerala
1994 John Abraham Award for the best run film Society of Country Federation of Film Societies of India
1996 President of India’s National Award for Stage Craft and Direction Government of India
2001 Selected as one in 101 world renowned living Keralites of the millennium Government of Kerala
2003 "Man Of The Year" for contribution made in the field of art Limca Book of Records
2004 "Special Recognition" Award for overall contribution in the field of art and culture. Government of Kerala
"Award of Excellence" for outstanding contribution in the field of Art and Culture Govt. of Pondicherry
Special Award for contribution to the Film Society Movement in Kerala Federation of Film Societies of India
2006 “Kalaimamani” Award for Stage Craft and Direction Government of Tamil Nadu
Soorya Krishnamoorthy remains as the only artiste to have received the highest honour by 3 State Governments, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry.

Dr. Mayilvahanan Natarajan

Prof. Mayilvahanan Natarajan is the Vice Chancellor of Dr. MGR Medical College in Chennai, India. He is the Chief of the Orthopaedic Oncology Services at the prestigious Regional Cancer Institute in Adyar, Chennai. He is also a Consultant at the Apollo Cancer and Specialities Hospital, Chennai.
Service to Bone Cancer Patients:
Historically the treatment of malignant bone tumors in the limb was by amputation to save the life of the patient. Dr. Mayilvahanan Natarajan has revolutionized the treatment of patients with bone cancer by introducing the technology of "Custom Mega Prosthesis in Bone Tumors" in Tamil Nadu as early as 1988. By this unique and specialized technique he has avoided amputation in patients with bone cancer and pioneered Limb Salvage Surgery. His impressive and unmatched series of 1344 cases in 20 years (1988 - 2007) has established Orthopaedic Oncology as a speciality in India and got him international acclaim. Of the 1,000 Orthopaedic Surgeons in Tamil Nadu State and 10,000 Orthopaedic Surgeons in India, Dr. Mayilvahanan Natarajan is the only one who has been consistently doing this exemplary work for over a decade.
Service to Society:
The cost of the imported Custom Mega Prosthesis is about $9000. Working on the philosophy of indigenous technology development programme based on locally available resources in biomedical materials, he has strived to reorient and improve health care facilities to bring it within the reach of the common man. Dr. Mayilvahanan self designed and fabricated the Custom Mega Prosthesis indigenously in Chennai at a fraction of the cost 900 US$. By this he has made the custom prosthesis cost effective and treatment affordable for all sections of the society.
The Indigenization of the prostheses for the various anatomical regions have cut down the cost of this procedure to one tenth and enabled service oriented organizations like the Cancer Institute and the Government General Hospital to offer this invaluable option to their patients. For the patients attending the Government General Hospital, the prosthesis has been provided free of cost, so that his technology has reached even the poorest members of our society.
The Custom Mega Prostheses for the various anatomical regions have been submitted for Patent with the Director General of Patient in India. The prosthesis is now available for all the Surgeons throughout the Country for all deserving patients.
By self design and indigenous manufacturing he has made the Custom Mega Prosthesis affordable to patients, acceptable to the medical fraternity, applicable to the society and the concept of Custom Mega Prosthesis in Bone Tumors, attainable in our country, so that India keep pace with the rest of the world in Orthopaedic Oncology.
Creation of Centres of Excellence:
Dr. Mayilvahanan Natarajan has been doing the surgery of Custom Mega Prosthesis in Bone Tumors at the Regional Cancer Institute and Government General Hospital, and Madras Medical College for the past 18 years. He has made these places recognized Centres of Excellence for this unique type of surgery. Patients are referred to him from all over Tamil Nadu and the Regional Cancer Centres in Kerala, Karnataka, Jammu & Kashmir, Jabalpur, Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkatta and Andhra Pradesh. Patients are also referred from Bangladesh, Nepal, Malaysia, and Srilanka for this surgery at low cost. He is truly a Doctor without borders.
Development of the speciality:
Dr. Mayilvahanan Natarajan has developed Orthopaedic Oncology as a subspecialty in Orthopaedics and Cancer Surgery by his relentless pursuit of excellence in the management of bone tumor patients. He has authored two Books on Orthopaedic Oncology. He was invited to be the Guest Editor of the Orthopaedic Oncology Section of the the Post Graduate Text book of Orthopaedics published by the Indian Orthopaedic Association (1999). He travels to various parts of India to give guest lectures and practical demonstrations.
International Recognition:
The British Orthopaedic Association and Wish Bone Trust felicitated him with the International Orthopaedic Oncology Award (1998). A distinguished international organization devoted to the field of bone tumors namely the Asia Pacific Musculoskeletal Tumor Society, has recognized the work of Dr. Mayilvahanan Natarajan and elected him as their Millennium President (2000 –2002) . He is the first Indian who has received this honour. Japanese Orthopaedic Association Appreciation Award in acknowledgement of achievement in the Surgical Treatment of Bone Sarcomas (2004). Korean Orthopaedic Association Appreciation Award for the excellence in Orthopaedic Oncology (2006)
National Recognition:
The highest and prestigious civilian Padma Shri Award by His Excellency the President of India for Meritorious Services rendered to the Bone Tumor patients (2007). He is the recipient of Dr. B.C. Roy National Award by the Medical Council of India for his unparalleled work on Custom Mega Prosthesis in Bone Tumors (2004). National Award for the Welfare of Disabled by the Government of India in recognition of cost effective technological innovation (2005). The Indian Orthopaedic Association nominated him as the Chairman of the Orthopaedic Oncology Section to develop this subspecialty (1999 – 2002). Recognizing his contribution to Indian Orthopaedics, the Orthopaedic Surgeons of the country have elected him as President of the Indian Orthopaedic Association (2005 – 2006). Lemelson Recognition and Mentoring Programme (L-Ramp) Innovation Award by the The Lemelson Foundation, USA & Indian Institute of Technology (2005).
State Level Recognition:
The Tamil Nadu State Council for Science and Technology in recognition of his distinguished work has designated him a Scientist in Clinical Medical Sciences and has decorated him with the Tamil Nadu Scientist Award (TANSA 1998). He was elected the youngest Millennium President of the Tamil Nadu Orthopaedic Association (1999 – 2000). He has been awarded the Best Doctor award by the Government of Tamil Nadu on 15 August 2004, for his services to the disabled.
Bona Bank and Disaster Management:
He has also been instrumental in starting the Bone Bank at the Government General Hospital, Chennai (2005). Cadaveric Bones will be processed and made available as Allografts for the poor and needy patients attending the Public Hospitals in Chennai. Limb Transplantation wherein Cadaveric Upper Limb or Lower Limb will be transplanted to patients who have lost their limbs due to trauma or cancer. Recently he has submitted the project on “Disaster Management Health Care Perspective” to the Government of Tamil Nadu and Ministry of Health, Government of India (2006). This pilot project outlines Hospital protocol for the Management of Major Disasters and Mass Causalities. This will be a model to be followed in all major hospitals in India.

Dr. V Shanta

Dr. V Shanta is a prominent Cancer specialist and the Chairperson of Adyar Cancer Institute, Chennai. Her career which spans over 50 years has been dedicated to organizing care for cancer patients, and intensive research in the prevention and cure of the disease. Her work has been widely acknowledged with several awards including the Magsaysay Award, and Padma Shri.
She has been associated with Adyar Cancer Institute since 1955, and has held several key positions, including its Director from 1980-1997. She is a member of the World Health Organization's Advisory Committee on Health and several other national and international committees on health and medicine.

Early life:
Dr. V Shanta was born on March 11, 1927 at Mylapore, Chennai. She was born into an illustrious family of academics and scientists, most eminent among them were Nobel Laureates C.V. Raman and S. Chandrasekar.
She did her schooling from National Girls High School (now P.S. Sivaswamy Higher Secondary School) and had always wanted to become a Doctor. She completed her graduation from Madras Medical College in 1949, and completed her M.D. in 1955.
She did not have any role models, but was always inspired by her maternal uncle S. Chandrasekar and her grandfather's brother, Sir C V Raman.

Career:
When Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddy set up the Cancer Institute in 1954, Dr. Shanta then had just finished her Doctor of Medicine (M.D.). She also got through the Public Service Commission examination and was posted to the Women and Children Hospital. She had to make a crucial decision and decided to join the Cancer Institute instead, upsetting many people.
The institute began with a single building and a cluster of huts with minimal equipment and two doctors, Dr. Shanta and Dr. Krishnamurthi. For three years she worked as honorary staff after which, the Institute offered to pay her Rs.200 per month and residence within the campus. She moved into the campus on April 13, 1955, and has remained there ever since.
Awards:
It was an unexpected, pleasant surprise for the doctor when the president of the Ramon Magsaysay Award Committee called her from the Philippines to inform her of the award. The president said, "We have just finished the meeting and you have been chosen." Dr Shanta had no words to express her feelings. She just said, "I am honoured and privileged." She still has no idea who suggested her name to the committee. The staff at the hospital is exhilarated; they look at the award as their own, which makes Dr Shanta even more proud and happy. "The award is theirs too, as we are one family." Dr. Shanta has dedicated the award to the institute, saying that there "is a long way to go".
The award citation is worth quoting to describe aptly Shanta's service. It reads:
"In an era when specialized medical care in India has become highly commercialized, Dr. Shanta strives to ensure that the Institute remains true to its ethos, `Service to all.' Its services are free or subsidized for some 60 per cent of its 100,000 annual patients; travel allowances make regular treatments accessible to the poor. And through a volunteer programme called Sanctuary, the Institute provides hope-giving emotional support and counseling to patients and their families and to cancer-afflicted children. There are thousands who might say, as leukemia victim Delli Rao, a wageworker, has said, `I owe my life to Dr. Shanta.' Seventy-eight-year-old Shanta still sees patients, still performs surgery, and is still on call twenty-four hours a day."
Quotes:
 "If we have grown, it is because of the grace of God, and our faith in our mission"
 "The journey has been long. I don't see an end to it, simply because our work is never ending. What we have done is very little. There is much more to do. The journey has been arduous, with bricks and stones and occasional flowers strewn in between, but we continue…"
 "When the sick approach the gates of the Institute, weak in body and spirit, and full of fear, there is only one response, you have to become part of them"
 "Every obstacle I have overcome, every patient I have cured, every child I have treated who has grown, got married and come back to see me with his/her children have made my whole life memorable."
References:
 Interview with Dr Shanta - Frontline Volume 22 - Issue 17, Aug 13 - 26, 2005
 The 2005 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Public Service-CITATION for Dr V. Shanta

Mr. G R K Reddy

Finding His Own Way

The Founder – MD of MARG has built his road to success painstakingly, but not without hurdles.

- says Lalitha Sridhar

His faith in himself, in a certain centeredness and balance, keeps G. Rama Krishna Reddy’s soft-spoken and self-effacing charm unruffled in the face of one of the worst downturns to hit the realty sector. “Recession is a re-alignment to requirements,” he says. “Too much trading has happened in naturally occurring resources like land and oil, or even intellect. In these past (boom) years, while extraction was cheap, trading was at very high prices. But the value created (from these naturally occurring resources) has been invested in only, say, 30 locations — whether Chicago or Shanghai or Gurgaon; it has not been in universally available affordable housing, education or healthcare. This is exclusive, not inclusive, development.”
“While this process itself has value, it gets degraded in the long run,” Reddy explains. “Anything inclusive, on the other hand, will have value in the long run. Since we have never looked at exclusive value creation, we are at an advantage at MARG, even in the downturn. We have started at the bottom of the pyramid and we have kept things affordable. We promised our projects will have good value 10-20 years later and that still holds true.”
The Chennai-headquartered MARG is a diversified infrastructure development company executing deep excavation projects, residential and commercial high-rise towers, power sub-stations, high-power transmission lines, ports and logistics, industrial clusters and living spaces. Among its more famous projects are the ongoing Karaikal Port, and MARG Swarna-bhoomi, a 1,000-acre ‘global city’ between Chennai and Pondicherry, launched last year with a high-profile live music concert for a 20,000-strong home crowd by A R Rahman, whose music Reddy says he enjoys very much.
But the promoter of Chennai’s first marathon prefers the quiet life, beginning his day with his family, and a spot of meditation and exercise, and ending it with more time at home. His wife, Rajini, is also a first generation entrepreneur, running an independent knowledge BPO, Exemplarr Worldwide. “She is more educated than I am, and she has a public school background. It inspired me to get an advanced executive management degree from Kellogg’s Business School a couple of years back. Earlier, I had family responsibilities and there was no opportunity,” smiles the commerce post-graduate from Delhi who schooled in mofussil Andhra Pradesh. His original ambition was to become a civil servant.
Instead, “I worked in an investment company for six years before I decided to begin my own business,” says Reddy. “The difference between being an executive and being an entrepreneur is huge, I found. Keeping relationships going — with stakeholders, bankers, the government — is the biggest challenge that keeps you going at the end of the day.” A dangerously rough patch in 1994, which left him with multiple debts and only three employees, was a time when, “you have done your best”. “Irrespective of who they were, everybody had advice to give. Credibility had to be built again. One just had to take it in the right spirit and move on.” Indeed, he has.
Today, Reddy’s greatest satisfaction comes from a growing organization that thinks innovatively. “Construction results in the creation of tangible, physical assets. I come from an agrarian family. Construction is not very different. You sow a seed, you remain anchored in your faith, and take everything happily and it grows.”

Mr. Naresh Gupta

Naresh Gupta completed his schooling in Lucknow and his graduation and post graduation in science from Lucknow University. He was awarded a Gold Medal for highest marks in Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry combination in B.Sc. He was awarded four Gold Medals in his post graduation in Mathematics.

He joined the Indian Administrative Service in 1973 and has held different posts in the Tamil Nadu Cadre including that of Secretary to Governor, Home Secretary and Chief Electoral Officer. He is currently the Chief Electoral Officer concerned with conduct of Elections to the Parliament and the Tamil Nadu State Legislative Assembly. He attended a Course in Leeds University, U.K. in 1987.

Dr. G Bhakthavatsalam

Dr. G. Bakthavathsalam
MBBS, MS, FICS, FCCP, FAMS, FMMC
Chairman
K.G. Hospital,
Coimbatore, India.

Dr. G. Bakthavathsalam is a renowned surgeon, philanthropist, orator and a dedicated teacher with sterling qualities, which he maintains throughout his career. A man of principles and strong convictions, he believes in doing one's duty with honesty and hard work. He is a "Humane Surgeon" with whom his patients can feel comfortable. He is the Founder of Centres of Excellence in Healthcare, Education, Information Technology and Power.
He believes that a doctor has to be compassionate, honest in all interactions (no matter how difficult), resolute in their wanting to heal (as well as to possibly cure), patient, optimistic, approachable, inquisitive, proactive and flexible. His amazing intra-operative skills are par excellent. A person who embodied clinical practice, mingled with fierce desire to teach and disseminate knowledge, has made him an able academician. He has many admirable qualities, such as punctuality, discipline, commitment, deep devotion to duty and straightforwardness, which enable him to achieve the ladder of success.

He leads a team of doctors, PGs, residents and fellows on 'grand rounds' through the hospital which is the hallmark of academic medicine in K.G. Hospital. He advises the doctors to make a commitment to provide the best possible medical care to an underserved population. Dr. GB strives to teach students the core principles of understanding medicine and human values. He also brings a sense of fun and enthusiasm to his teaching. He is a compassionate doctor and a meticulous surgeon who has personally mentored hundreds of good doctors and nurses. He takes classes for postgraduate students who pursue Diplomate programmes in various disciplines of National Board of Examinations and moulds their attitude and behaviour on a continuing basis. His goal is to improve patient care each day.
At the end of the day, he always asks his doctors, "What did you learn today, how did you make a difference, and how did the patients get better?" He makes a balance sheet every day to assess how many patients he treated each day and satisfied them.
Born on April 5, 1942 at Annur and graduated (MBBS - 1964) from Madras Medical College, and also having obtained an MS from the same college, he had his post graduate training in Surgery in Mount Sinai Hospital, Chicago (USA). On the clarion call given by his father, Dharmaveera K. Govinda swamy Naidu, to serve the countrymen in the field of healthcare, he returned to India in the year 1974 to start K.G. Hospital. It has now grown into a 550-bedded multi and super speciality and post graduate medical center - a "Centre of Excellence" recognized in India and abroad.
Dr. Bakthavathsalam is a Fellow of:
• Association of Surgeons of India (Chennai),
• International College of Surgeons (USA),
• College of Chest Physicians (New Delhi),
• Academy of Medical Specialities (New Delhi),
• G.I. Endoscopy (Tokyo University).
He has been President of:
• Indian Medical Association,
• Association of Surgeons of India,
• Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy of India.
He has been Member of:
• Medical Council of India,
• Advisory Board, Madurai Kamaraj University,
• Dr. M.G.R. Medical University,
• National Healthcare Committee of CII, New Delhi
He is a Member of:
• Academic Council of Government Arts College (Coimbatore),
• Thiruvalluvar University (Vellore),
• Planning Board, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore,
• Delegation of CII National Healthcare Committee, which participated in two international conferences on Healthcare at Singapore.
• National Healthcare Committee of CII, New Delhi

He was Chairman of:
• CII's Healthcare Sub-Committee (Southern Region) for two years

He founded an exclusive "Multi Speciality Eye Hospital", where so far, over 90,000 poor patients (who were in darkness and were blind) have undergone free IOL cataract surgeries and thus restored vision to them. In his book titled "INDIA: A Vision for the New Millennium", Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam has commended in two pages (page Nos. 234-235) about his charitable activities being done in K.G. Eye Hospital.
More than 20 lakh people have received highly subsidized treatments and undergone surgeries at K.G. Hospital over the years. More than 5,000 dialysis have been done free of cost for the poor.
Out of 5,000 open heart, valve replacement and congenital deformity surgeries performed by the hospital, over 1,000 heart surgeries have been performed free of cost for the poor. At the request of the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Dr. M. Karunanidhi, Dr. GB signed an MOU titled ILAM SIRAR IRUDAYA PAADUKAAPPU THITTAM, i.e. a scheme to save the hearts of poor children. More than 450 children have been operated free of cost during the last one year. These children were waiting for cardiac surgery for the past 1 to 8 years. These children are leading normal lives now. This is an ongoing scheme. K.G. Hospital has also joined hands with the Tamil Nadu Government to implement the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister's Insurance Scheme for Life Saving Treatment for below the poverty line families.
Dr. Bakthavathsalam has created centres of excellence in nursing and physiotherapy, viz. K.G. School of Nursing, K.G. College of Nursing and K.G. College of Physiotherapy. More than 8,000 students have come out successfully from these institutions. They are occupying eminent positions in the country and abroad.
He has also set up institutions of higher learning in Coimbatore, viz.
• KGISL-IIM (which conducts MCA course),
• KGISL-Institute of Technology (KITE) (Engineering College),
• K.G. College of Arts & Science

The hospital, being a "Trust Hospital", functions on a not-for-profit basis, so that any person could take treatment in the hospital, whether he is rich or poor, at a fairly reasonable cost.
The hospital has been recognized by the Government of India, State Governments of Tamil Nadu and Kerala and also a host of banks, insurance companies, public and private sector undertakings, Air Force, Defence establishments and also under the ECHS and ESI Schemes, where retired Defence personnel and their family members take treatment.
The hospital runs a fleet of ambulances across the district of Coimbatore to pick up people involved in road accidents and trauma. The hospital has also tied up with the Coimbatore Police for the project titled 'Golden Hour' mooted by the Commissioner of Police to save road accident victims. The hospital has also launched a MOTORCYCLE AMBULANCE to reach out to accident victims immediately for rendering immediate first aid.
The hospital has a regional blood bank, which supplies blood and blood components to over 250 hospitals in and around Coimbatore and neighbouring districts.
Dr. Bakthavathsalam has contributed his mite to help the Tsunami victims by rushing medicines, paramedical personnel and doctors to Cuddalore, the Tsunami hit area
During the Kargil War, blood and blood components and a philanthropic support of Rs.16 lakhs were given to the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Dr. M. Karunanidhi.
During the Kumbakonam school fire accident, 300 units of blood plasma and drugs worth Rs.5 lakhs were donated.
During the Coimbatore blast of 1998, Dr. Bakthavathsalam was responsible for saving 250 bomb blast victims.
K.G. Hospital & Post Graduate Medical Institute has been recognized by National Board of Examinations, New Delhi, in 11 different specialities. The education imparted to the doctors is on par with British and American standards.
Dr. GB's mission is to educate the public as to how to prevent diseases. So far, 3,000 public education programmes have been conducted by him. His mission is also to educate the young medical students in a professional way. He has conducted 2,500 continuing medical education programmes for doctors over the years.
Dr. Bakthavathsalam has written a Tamil book titled IDHAYAM ORU KOVIL (GOD LIVES IN YOUR HEART), which has been well received by the general public. The book provides hints for people to avoid a heart attack and also gives guidelines to lead a healthy life. This book is being translated into English, Hindi and Malayalam.
Dr. GB is a visionary and a pioneer for having introduced the 'state-of-the-art medical facilities' in Coimbatore, so as to make the city a preferred 'Medical Destination' for the rich and the poor alike. He installs revolutionary medical equipments for the hospital, which have been benefiting the people considerably. Installation of the world's fastest and Asia's first 128 Slice Heart CT Scanner is one of the recent additions.
He is the Founder Chairman of "KGISL Software Park of Excellence" at Coimbatore, a world class institution, employing thousands of software professionals. KG Group has diverse interests in textiles, engineering, finance, healthcare, education, travel and entertainment.
Saravanampatti, a sleepy village - on the outskirts of Coimbatore - until a decade ago, has been transformed into a hi-tech village by him following the concept of "Providing Urban Opportunities in Rural Areas" (PURA) propounded by Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. The village today has everything that a modern town needs.
He is also the Chairman of 'Coimbatore Hitech Infrastructure Private Limited" (CHIL), which has created the first Special Economic Zone (SEZ) IT Park in Coimbatore. Multinational companies like Robert Bosch, Cognizant Technology, Perot Systems and SPI Healthcare, have set up their facilities in the SEZ. Once fully operational, all of these companies would create employment potential to over 50,000 people.
Dr. GB has also forayed into alternate form of energy by setting up India's first Solar Thermal Power Research Institute in K.G. Campus using indigenous technology. He has laid down an ambitious plan to generate solar energy, so as to supplement Government's efforts in this direction. This project will create "Green Energy Revolution" in the country, apart from providing employment opportunities to thousands of rural people.
Dr. GB is of the strong view that 'Preventive Medicine' needs to be propagated extensively in the country, so that people would take appropriate measures to combat diseases and adopt life style modifications to detect various ailments at the inception itself and thus get rid of the disease. This would cut costs and provide relief to the patients faster. Towards this end, he launched a project called "Save a Million Hearts", to carry out heart check up and treatment on one million people in a phased manner in the next ten years.
He is a teacher, philosopher, guie and mentor for health care professionals. He has an indomitable spirit for public service. He is an intellectual and passionate person admired by all sections of the society. He is the most popular doctor and teacher and has inspired a number of students, which he continues to do.
AWARDS conferred on Dr. GB:
• Dr. B.C. Roy Award (1984)
• Seva Ratna Award
• Vaidya Ratna Award
• Rotary Vocational Excellence Award
• Life Time Achievement Award in Medicine
• Distinguished PSG Alumni Award
• Chandrayan of Doctors Award
• The Jewel of Coimbatore Award
• Padma Shri Award (2005)
• Honorary Degree of Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) Honoris Causa (2009) - The Tamilnadu Dr. M.G.R. Medical University