Banega Swasth India Season 9 Finale: Meet The Padma Awardees

This Independence Day, India's Padma awardee doctors joined us for the grand finale of NDTV-Dettol Banega Swasth India Season 9 Finale along with Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan and Union Health Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya.

Dr. Ravi Kannan: He is a surgical oncologist, who quit his job as the Head of the Department of Surgical Oncology at the prestigious Cancer Institute (WIA) in Chennai, and shifted to Assam to treat cancer patients in the Barak Valley of Silchar, Assam.

In Assam, Dr Kannan runs the Cachar Cancer Hospital and Research Centre, where he treats cancer patients free of cost. So far, Dr. Kannan has treated over 70,000 cancer patients. He was conferred with Padma Shri in 2020, India's fourth highest civilian honour, for his exemplary work in the field of medicine.

Dr Dhananjay Diwakar Sagdeo: Born in Nagpur, Maharashtra, Dr Dhananjay Diwakar Sagdeo is a Hematologist. He has been serving the tribals of Wayanad in Kerala for the last four decades. He was the first to discover Sickle Cell Anaemia among the tribal of Wayanad. The motto of Dr Sagdeo's life is ‘Manava Sewa is Madhava Sewa'. For his selfless service, Dr Sagdeo was bestowed with the Padma Shri award in 2021.

Dr Duvvur Nageshwar Reddy: He is recognised the world over for innovations in Gastrointestinal endoscopy. Dr Reddy's main area of clinical and basic research interest has been G.I. Endoscopy. Dr Reddy believes 'good health resides in the gut and the bacteria in the gut'.

Dr Reddy set up the Asian Institute of Gastroenterology, a tertiary care Gastrointestinal specialist hospital in Hyderabad. Dr Reddy has been bestowed with various awards including B C Roy Award from the Indian Medical Council in 1995, Padma Shri in 2002 and Padma Bhushan in 2016.

Dr Veeraswamy Seshiah: Born and brought up in Chennai, Dr Seshiah is India's first diabetic pathologist. He is known as the Bhishma Pitamah of pregnancy diabetes in India. He introduced the ‘Single Test Procedure' to diagnose Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM). GDM poses a higher risk for babies dying in the womb in the 28th week of pregnancy or after (stillbirth).

For his contribution in the field of Medicine, Dr Seshiah was honoured with Padma Shri in 2022. The Government of India had also declared the birthday of Dr Seshiah, March 10, as National Gestational Diabetes Mellitus Awareness Day.

Dr. Praveen Chandra: A leading Indian Cardiologist from Gurgaon, Dr. Praveen Chandra is recognised as one of the leaders in Angioplasty in the country. First time in India, he did Percutaneous Aortic valve implantation without surgery, he also did the first-ever percutaneous mitral valve repair. Both have important implications in our country with the highest number of Valvular cases in the world.

For his success and contributions in the field of healthcare and medicine, Dr Chandra was awarded Padma Shri in 2016 by the President of India.

Dr Neelam Kler: Known for improving the chances of survival of premature babies weighing less than 1,000 grams, Dr. Kler's first ever failed attempt at resuscitation of an asphyxiated baby as a medical student, made her decide that she wanted to save babies and become a neonatologist.

Dr Neelam Kler, an eminent neonatologist, has been awarded Padma Bhushan in 2014, for her exemplary work in the field of hospital-acquired infections and nutritional management of high-risk babies.

Dr. Indira Chakravarty: Prof. (Dr.) Indira Chakravarty is an Indian public health specialist, scholar and environmentalist. She was honoured with Padma Shri in 2014, for her contributions to the fields of public health and environment.

Dr. Chakravarty has been actively working in several areas of public health including nutrition, WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene), food safety, environmental pollution, and human resource development, among others. She has been a consultant and adviser of several UN and other agencies like WHO, FAO, UNICEF, UNDP, World Bank, IDRC, and CIDA in numerous countries all over Asia, Africa and Europe.