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Sitaram Jaipuria Foundation Medical & Healthcare Excellence Awards
SJF Medical Awards - 3rd Edition
Awardees
Excellence in Medicine and Healthcare Award
Achievements of Past Awardees
Discover the motivational tales of the 2026 awardees of the prestigious Sitaram Jaipuria Foundation Medical and Healthcare Excellence Awards. Honouring their extraordinary commitment to shaping a healthier world.
Excellence in Medicine and Healthcare Award
Prof. (Dr) Vinod K. Paul
Prof. (Dr) Vinod K. Paul is Member (Health) at NITI Aayog and former Professor and Head of Paediatrics at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi. An eminent pediatrician, academic leader, and public health policymaker, he has made remarkable contributions to child health, medical education, and national health systems. With over 400 scientific publications and recognition among the world’s top 2% scientists in paediatrics, his academic work has significantly shaped child health research and policy globally. At AIIMS, he mentored generations of physicians and contributed to medical education as Editor of the widely used textbook Ghai Essential Pediatrics. He also served as Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Medical Council of India (2018–2020), where he led major reforms in medical education, including expansion of medical seats and the introduction of Telemedicine Guidelines. As Member (Health), NITI Aayog, he played a pivotal role in designing landmark initiatives such as Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY, strengthening comprehensive primary healthcare through Ayushman Arogya Mandirs, and guiding India’s national COVID-19 response and vaccination strategy.
The Sitaram Jaipuria Foundation salutes this tireless life-saver and appreciates his visionary leadership and exceptional contribution to the field of medicine and healthcare.
Emerging Young Leader in Medicine and Healthcare Award
Dr Sahajal Dhooria
Dr Sahajal Dhooria is Additional Professor in the Department of Pulmonary Medicine at the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh and a nationally recognized expert in interstitial lung diseases and sarcoidosis. With 366 PubMed-indexed publications and an H-index of 56, he has made pioneering contributions to the epidemiology, genetics, diagnosis, and treatment of Interstitial Lung Disease in India. His practice changing work on low dose prednisolone in pulmonary sarcoidosis, has received global recognition and influenced international clinical guidelines. An accomplished clinician, researcher, and mentor, Dr Dhooria has secured major competitive grants and actively contributes to national and international guideline committees.
The Sitaram Jaipuria Foundation salutes this young life-saver and recognizes his scientific excellence, innovation, and leadership as an inspiring emerging force in the field of medicine and healthcare.
Exemplary Leadership in Rural Medicine and Healthcare Award
Dr Himmatrao Saluba Bawaskar
Dr Himmatrao S Bawaskar is Medical Director of Bawaskar Hospital and Clinical Research Centre, Mahad, Maharashtra, and a pioneering physician scientist dedicated to rural healthcare for over four decades. Through meticulous bedside research in resource limited settings, he transformed the management of scorpion sting envenomation, reducing mortality from nearly 40% to less than 1% with the use of prazosin and evidence-based protocols published in leading international journals lancet, BMJ, NEJM and tropical medicine. In addition to this he searched out fluorosis, snake bite, hypothyroidism, dementia , rabies, Brugad syndrome, alopecia and chronic renal failure in farmers due to selenium and cadmium toxicity respectively , rapid thrombolysis in acute myocardial infarction. Chines restaurant syndrome, Gym tonic and quadriplegia, unethical cut practice in medical profession. A recipient of the Padma Shri award, Dr Bawaskar has authored over 126 PubMed-indexed publications chapters in textbook of medicine and trained thousands of peripheral doctors across India. Lifetime research is done without help of any funding agencies.
The Sitaram Jaipuria Foundation salutes this life-saver and honours his unwavering commitment to scientific excellence and lifesaving innovation and contribution to rural medicine and healthcare.
Exemplary Leadership in Rural Medicine and Healthcare Award
Dr Sadanand Dagadu Raut
Dr Sadanand Dagadu Raut is Director of Vighnahar Nursing Home, Narayangaon, Maharashtra, and a transformative force in rural and tribal healthcare for over 37 years. He established one of the region’s first Rural Critical Care Centres, bringing ICU, dialysis, emergency, and cardiac ambulance services to village level populations. A nationally recognized authority in snakebite management, he launched the “Zero Snake Bite Death” Mission, achieving sustained zero mortality in his region and personally saving over 12,000 lives. Listed on the World Health Organization Roster of Experts for Snakebite Envenomation, Dr Raut has trained more than 40,000 doctors and thousands of frontline workers, strengthening rural health systems nationwide.
The Sitaram Jaipuria Foundation salutes this life-saver and honours his lifesaving innovation and contribution to rural medicine and healthcare.
Smt. Gayatri Jaipuria Women's Medicine and Healthcare
Dr Thara Rangaswamy
Dr Thara Rangaswamy is Co-Founder and Vice-Chairperson of the Schizophrenia Research Foundation (SCARF), Chennai, and a pioneering leader in mental health and women’s empowerment. For over four decades, she has worked tirelessly to improve care, dignity, and rehabilitation for women living with mental illness, especially often among the most vulnerable and marginalized. Through community programmes, rehabilitation centres, and self-help initiatives, she has helped women regain independence, rebuild families, and reclaim their place in society. A recipient of the Nari Shakti Puraskar, Dr Rangaswamy has also advanced research, policy, and advocacy to strengthen mental health systems in India.
The Sitaram Jaipuria Foundation salutes this life-saver who is a source of inspiration to doctors and women across the country and recognizes her leadership and lifelong commitment to advancing mental healthcare and outstanding contribution to women’s healthcare.
Shri Ashwini Kumar Award for Healthcare Excellence in Diabetes and Obesity Care
Dr Viswanathan Mohan
Dr Viswanathan Mohan is one of the world’s leading diabetologists and a pioneer in diabetes research, care, and prevention in India. As Chairman of the Dr Mohan’s Diabetes Specialities Centre and the Madras Diabetes Research Foundation, he has devoted over four decades to advancing the understanding and management of diabetes and its complications. Through large-scale epidemiological studies, innovative models of affordable diabetes care, and groundbreaking research on the genetics and prevention of diabetes in Asian Indians, he has significantly shaped global knowledge on diabetes and obesity. With more than 1,800 scientific publications and extensive public health initiatives, his work has improved diabetes care for millions.The Sitaram Jaipuria Foundation salutes this tireless life-saver and honours his exceptional leadership and transformative contribution to diabetes and obesity care.
