MUMBAI: Swades Foundation appointed Dr. Devi Shetty as its advisor. He is an esteemed cardiac surgeon and a successful entrepreneur, into its advisory board which includes Arun Nanda, Harsh Mariwala, Dr. R.A. Mashelkar, Zia Mody, Amit Chandra, Sangeeta Talwar, Anand Desai, Dr. Ganesh Natarajan, Ipsita Dasgupta, Mr. RCM Reddy and Suketu V. Shah.
Commenting on the announcement, Co-founder Zarina Screwvala said, “It brings us great pleasure to welcome Dr. Devi Shetty to our advisory board. As a deeply respected doctor and entrepreneur, Dr. Shetty comes with an outstanding experience in healthcare and a strong passion for social impact that strongly aligns with the values of our foundation. We look forward to his expert counsel and engagement in creating a healthy, happy and empowered rural India.”
Expressing his views, Dr. Devi Shetty said, “It is a great honor to be a part of a foundation that believes in uplifting rural India. This comes at a pertinent and challenging time where rural livelihoods are impacted by COVID-19 and lack access to affordable, safe and quality healthcare. Through my association with Swades Foundation, I look forward to closely collaborating with Ronnie, Zarina and my fellow Advisory Board members to advance innovative models of sustainable development and commit to the vision of an empowered and poverty-free rural India.”
A cardiac surgeon of great repute, Dr. Shetty is a successful entrepreneur and a highly respected luminary for his ingenious ideas for reforms in the healthcare sector. His visionary leadership to make quality healthcare affordable for all has drawn global recognition time and again. He is also the current Chairman, Board of Governors, Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore. He has also served as a member Board of Governors of Medical Council of India and Representative of President of India in the Board of Governors of Indira Gandhi National Open University.
Apart from his pathbreaking work, Dr. Shetty is the recipient of several prestigious awards, including the Padma Bhushan, Padma Shri, The Economist Innovation Award, Ernst and Young – Entrepreneur of the Year, Financial Times Arcelor Mittal ‘Boldness in Business’ Award, Nikkei Asia Prize for Economic and Business Innovation. He has also been awarded honorary doctorates from the University of Minnesota, University of Mysore and IIT, Madras.
Swades Foundation is a Not for Profit organization focussing on rural empowerment through holistic development impacting over 2,700 villages in rural India. Founded by Ronnie & Zarina Screwvala, the Swades Foundation aims to empower 1 million rural lives every five years, lifting them out of poverty by empowering communities to take charge of their own lives.
Swades adopts a model of holistic transformation and works in education, health and nutrition, water, sanitation, and economic development. Its unique 4 E strategy of Engage, Empower, Execute, and Exit truly empowers the community and builds village leadership to take on the mandate of transforming their own village community.
