Devi Shetty
Born 1953 · Age 72
Indian cardiothoracic surgeon, founder & chairman of Narayana Health, pioneer of low-cost high-volume cardiac surgery and designer of large micro-health insurance schemes.
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Life & Career Timeline
Born in Kinnigoli, Dakshina Kannada, Karnataka
Devi Prasad Shetty was born in Kinnigoli (then Madras State), the eighth of nine children.
Primary school inspiration to pursue cardiac surgery
As a school student (fifth standard) Shetty heard about Christiaan Barnard's first heart transplant and decided to become a heart surgeon.
Completed MBBS from Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore
Shetty finished his Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) at Kasturba Medical College.
Completed postgraduate work in General Surgery (MS), Kasturba Medical College
Shetty completed postgraduate training in General Surgery at Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore.
Joined cardiothoracic training in the UK (Guy's Hospital and Brompton)
Shetty moved to the United Kingdom for cardiothoracic training; part of West Midlands rotation and worked at Guy's Hospital and Brompton.
Returned to India; joined B.M. Birla Hospital, Kolkata
After training in the UK (1983–1989), Shetty returned to India and worked at B.M. Birla Hospital in Kolkata.
Completed 100 heart operations (milestone)
Shetty later recalled having performed 100 heart operations by 1989 — an early high-volume milestone in his career.
Performed India's first neonatal heart surgery
Successfully operated on a 21-day-old baby ('Ronnie'), credited as the first neonatal heart surgery in India.
Performed angioplasty on Mother Teresa; became her physician
After treating Mother Teresa for a heart attack (angioplasty), Shetty served as her personal physician in her final years.
Founded Rabindranath Tagore International Institute of Cardiac Sciences (RTIICS) — Kolkata (founding period)
Shetty founded or played a principal role in establishing RTIICS in Kolkata as part of Narayana's Eastern India presence (exact founding year early 2000s).
Awarded Karnataka Ratna
Received Karnataka Ratna, Karnataka state's highest civilian award.
Founded Narayana Hrudayalaya (Bommasandra, Bangalore)
Shetty founded Narayana Hrudayalaya, a multi-specialty hospital in Bommasandra with a model focused on economies of scale to provide affordable care.
Received Rajyotsava Award (Karnataka)
Awarded Karnataka Rajyotsava award for contributions to medicine and society.
Yeshasvini micro-health insurance scheme launched (design role)
Shetty designed the Yeshasvini low-cost insurance scheme with Karnataka Government; initial premium ~Rs 5–7/month; rapid enrollment (1.6M first year, 2.2M second year).
Dr. B. C. Roy Award & Ernst & Young Entrepreneur (Start-up) awards
Received Dr. B. C. Roy Award and Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year (start-up category).
Awarded Padma Shri (Medicine)
Awarded Padma Shri by the Government of India for contribution to medicine and affordable healthcare.
Received Schwab Foundation / Social Entrepreneur Award
Won the Schwab Foundation (Social Entrepreneur) award for innovations in affordable healthcare.
Signed MOU with Karnataka Govt for 5,000-bed specialty hospital near Bangalore airport (announced/planned)
NH signed memorandum with Karnataka to build a large specialty 5,000-bed hospital near Bangalore International Airport (project announced/planned).
Public recognition as 'Henry Ford of heart surgery' (Wall Street Journal)
The Wall Street Journal described Shetty as the 'Henry Ford of heart surgery' for his high-volume, low-cost surgical model.
Signed MOU with Government of Gujarat for 5,000-bed hospital at Ahmedabad
Narayana Hrudayalaya signed memorandum with Gujarat to set up a 5,000-bed facility in Ahmedabad.
Named by international outlets as healthcare innovator; Time/Economist coverage
Recognised in Time, Wall Street Journal and Economist as an influential innovator in healthcare; coverage increased global profile and opened international projects.
Narayana Hrudayalaya model recognized internationally
Economist and other global outlets highlighted NH as a model for affordable tertiary care and large-scale delivery.
The Economist Innovation Award (Business Process)
Received The Economist Innovation Award in Business Process for innovations in care delivery.
Honorary Degree (University of Minnesota)
Conferred an honorary doctorate by the University of Minnesota for contributions to global healthcare.
Awarded Padma Bhushan (Medicine)
Received the Padma Bhushan, India's third-highest civilian honor for his work in affordable healthcare.
Named 'Indian of the Year' (Public Sector) by CNN-IBN
Recognised by CNN-IBN in 2012 for public-service contributions through healthcare innovation.
Economic Times / ET Entrepreneur of the Year (2012)
Recognised as Entrepreneur of the Year at Economic Times awards in 2012 for social/business impact.
Shetty & family hold ~75% stake in Narayana Hrudayalaya (reported ownership)
Media reports state Shetty and family control ~75% of Narayana Hrudayalaya and intended to preserve majority control.
Agreement with TriMedx / Ascension Health (JV announcement)
Announced an agreement with TriMedx (Ascension Health subsidiary) to create a joint venture to expand a chain of hospitals.
Cost milestone — coronary bypass priced at ~Rs 95,000 (~US$1,583)
Narayana Health reduced coronary bypass cost to ~Rs 95,000, about half of what it had been two decades earlier; aim to reduce further to $800 within a decade.
Conferred Honoris Causa Doctor of Science by IIT Madras
IIT Madras awarded him an honorary Doctor of Science degree.
Opened Health City Cayman Islands (104-bed)
Launched the first major international Narayana project — Health City Cayman Islands (HCCI), a 104-bed tertiary care hospital built in ~1 year; part of larger 2,000-bed plan.
Publication: Novel pulmonary hemorrhage treatment during thromboendarterectomy
Co-authored a surgical technique published in Annals of Thoracic Surgery addressing pulmonary hemorrhage during thromboendarterectomy.
Public claims about volume: surgeons perform 30–35 surgeries per day at NH centers
Narayana Health surgeons reported performing tens of thousands of high-volume surgeries; NH claimed surgeons do 30–35 surgeries per day in high-volume centers.
Appointed Chairperson, Board of Governors, IIM Bangalore
Named Chairperson of the Board of Governors of the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB); later renewed for a second four-year term.
Patent granted: System & method for facilitating delivery of patient care (US10777321B2)
Patent covering algorithms and systems to optimise patient-care delivery and coordination (digital health / care-delivery patent).
Featured in Netflix docuseries 'The Surgeon's Cut' (ep. 4)
Starred in the final episode showcasing his high-volume surgical teams and low-cost care model; series released globally on Netflix.
Appointed chairman of Karnataka COVID-19 task force
Appointed to lead Karnataka's COVID-19 task force; appointment prompted criticism from some global health experts citing his cardiac-surgery background.
Co-authored surgical-innovation publication on VSD repair technique (Ann Thorac Surg)
Publication describing a novel rapid autologous pericardial patch repair technique for post-septal myectomy VSDs (paper published 2022).
Professional surgeries milestone — performed >100,000 heart operations
By 2024 reviews and profiles report Shetty has performed more than 100,000 cardiac operations in his career (including large pediatric volume).
Narayana Health network scale (as reported in 2024)
Narayana Health had evolved into a network of ~47 healthcare facilities and ~6,121 operational beds (figures reported in reviews and institutional summaries).
Telemedicine & digital platform scale (Athma / telemedicine)
Narayana's digital platform (Athma) and telemedicine network reported to serve ~53,000 remote patients and connect ~800 centres; platform handles tens of millions of transactions (investment ~Rs 500 crore).
Cited as architect of Yeshasvini scheme covering ~4 million members
Yeshasvini micro-insurance scheme, designed with Karnataka Govt and championed by Shetty, reported to cover ~4 million people and fund ~1.2 million surgeries over its run.
Net worth reported in popular profiles (estimate)
Profiles and outlets give differing estimates; some sources (GlobalIndian/Forbes citations) estimate personal net worth in the range of ~USD 1.2–2.0 billion depending on stake valuation in Narayana Health (family reportedly holds ~75%).
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