Dr. R. V. Ramani, the Founder and Managing Trustee, Sankara Eye Foundation, India has been awarded the prestigious “Padma Shri” from the Government of India in recognition of his work in the field of medical services.
Dr. R.V. Ramani heads one of the largest super specialty eye hospitals in India.
Way back in 1977, it all began with the setting up of Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Medical Centre, which later became Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Medical Trust, a Registered Public Charitable Trust in India. Through this Trust he established a network of 10 Super Specialty Eye Hospitals across 7 States of India with over 2200 beds for community eye care.
Sankara Eye Hospitals work on an 80:20 ratio, providing world class eye care with a social impact. 80 % of the beneficiaries are the underprivileged who receive completely free services, while the remaining 20% are the patients who can afford to pay for their treatment, thereby cross-subsidizing and enabling the hospital to be self-sustaining.
Sankara Eye Hospitals have so far performed 1.8 million absolutely free eye surgeries. “A National Award, a high recognition, which has come out of thorough due diligence and transparent evaluation will further encourage me and Team Sankara to reach greater heights and serve many more millions of needy people in our Motherland.” were Dr. Ramani’s initial reaction on being conferred the Padma Shri Award.