Devi Prasad Shetty

Devi Prasad Shetty is a philanthropist and a renowned cardiac surgeon.

Life and Career
He is originally from the erstwhile South Kanara District of Karnataka state in India (now divided into Mangalore and Udupi District). After completing his graduate degree in Medicine and post-graduate work in General Surgery from Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore(Karnataka state), he trained in cardiac surgery at Guys Hospital in the United Kingdom. He gained valuable experience in heart operations in the West Midlands rotation. He returned to India in 1989 and initially worked at B.M. Birla Hospital in Kolkata in Eastern India. After some time, he moved to Bangalore and started the Manipal Heart Foundation at Manipal Hospital, Bangalore. He has many patients and admirers in Bangladesh and from all over the world, especially Southern Asia.

Contributions
In 2002, Shetty founded Narayana Hrudayalaya (NH), a multi-specialty hospital in Bommasandra on the outskirts of Bangalore City (Karnataka state)in South India. Apart from cardiac surgery, NH also has cardiology, neurosurgery, pediatric surgery, haematology and transplant services, and nephrology. A state-of-the-art trauma hospital (Sparsh) and an ophthalmology hospital Narayana Nethralaya are the beginnings of the Narayana Health City. The health city will also house a center for neurosciences, a children's hospital, a cancer research centre and general hospital.

Yashasvini
Yashasvini is possibly the world's cheapest comprehensive health insurance scheme, at Rs.5 (11 cents) per month, designed by Shetty and the Government of Karnataka for the poor farmers of the state. It is very well-utilized in Karnataka with millions of members.

Awards and Recognition

 * Schwab Foundation's award in 2005
 * Padma Shri award for Medicine in 2004
 * Dr. B C Roy award in 2003
 * Sir M. Visvesvaraya Memorial Award in 2003
 * Ernst & Young - Entrepreneur Of The Year in 2003
 * Rajyotsava award in 2002
 * Karnataka Ratna award in 2001