A man's real strength lies not in serving his personal interest, but in working selflessly for the society and the poor. Dr. Prathap C. Reddy, Chairman, Apollo Hospitals Group is one of those medical practitioners who have ensured that he gives the best of healthcare facilities to his countrymen. With a faculty of 3,000 doctors and over 20,000 staff, he has been providing panacea to the tens of millions of suffering souls across the country.

A helping hand to the needy, Dr. Reddy has touched million of lives and has been nourishing a dream of making India the ultimate Healthcare Destination of the World. In fact, an anecdote about him well establishes his altruist nature. Around two decades ago, he lost a patient, who couldn't go to Texas for an open-heart surgery. It was a turning point in Dr. Reddy's life who resolved to bring the best of medical services to India. The result was the foundation of Apollo Hospitals Group.

Having a passion for perfection, and driven by an urge to create world-class medical infrastructure in India, Dr. Reddy decided to give up his successful practice in the US and came back to India in the early 80s. Soon, he set in motion a true revolutionizing zeal among Indian medical practitioners with the foundation of the first center of the Apollo Hospitals Group in Chennai in 1983. Dr. Reddy steered the Apollo Hospitals Group to a number of destinations in the country and abroad with the first clinic in Dubai being established in March 1999. By stepping up his international presence from six to nine countries in less than a year, he has emerged as the single largest healthcare provider in Asia.

Open to newest ideas, Dr. Reddy has taken an innovative step to integrate into healthcare, the digital nervous system that will enable to create a virtual Apollo Center anywhere. Two of his innovations include the Web initiative, Med Varsity, a virtual medical venture providing access to experts in the field of medicine anywhere and "MEDNET" Hospital Systems Management package have gone a long way to metamorphose the very practice of medical system in the country. Some of the many first's from Apollo are; declared a centre for excellence by the Government of India, initiated the idea of Corporate hospitals in Chennai, first private company to administer health insurance in the country, first to have an organ transplant registry in the country, pioneered the concept of plain balloon and laser angioplasty techniques in the country and Apollo Heartline, a revolutionary tool to access ECG's over the telephone.

A man with a noble mission, Dr. Reddy aspires to set up many rural hospitals across the country. His maiden venture at Aragonda, his native village, has already brought hope for the millions of have-nots in the region. A born visionary, Dr. Reddy, has today thirty Hospitals (owned and managed by him) with total bed strength of 2,800 and an investment of Rs. 800 crore. Among his 30 highly hospitals in India, four have received the gold standard for hospitals by the US-based Joint Commission International.

It was in recognition of his selfless services that Dr. Reddy was awarded by the Government of India with the prestigious Padma Bhushan in February 1991. He was also awarded with the Sir Neel Ratan Sarkar Award for medical excellence in June 1998.

Not only this, Dr. Reddy was also nominated by Business India as one of the Top Fifty personalities, who have made a difference to the country in the fifty years since Independence. Even the Royal college of Surgeons of Edinburgh came forward and conferred the Award of fellowship Ad hominem to his man, who has helped India with a superior healthcare and unparallel medical services. According to Dr. Reddy the 3P's behind his success are purity, patience and perseverance but we believe that the main reason of his success was his altruistic heart.