Awards
Dr Girish Rao honoured with BOA Appreciation Award & Gold Medal
Our President and Executive Medical Director, Dr Girish Rao, attended the Bombay Ophthalmologists’ Association (BOA) Focus – 2025 Annual Conference held from 1–3 August 2025 in Mumbai.
During the event, Dr Girish Rao was conferred the Appreciation Award and Gold Medal by the BOA in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the field of ophthalmology.
Dr. Jyotirmay Biswas Honored with David BenEzra Award at IOIS 2025
Our Distinguished Senior Consultant Dr. Jyotirmay Biswas was awarded the David BenEzra Award at the International Society of Ocular Inflammation (IOIS) meeting held in Rio de Janeiro on June 26, 2025.
Named in honor of Dr. David BenEzra, one of the founding members of IOIS, this award is presented at every IOIS meeting to recognize excellence in the treatment and research of ocular inflammatory diseases. Dr. Biswas was selected by the IOIS Organizing Committee for his contributions to the field of uveitis and ocular inflammation.
The award includes a commemorative plaque and an oration delivered at the conference. It was formally presented by Dr. Quan Dong Nguyen, President of IOIS, during the grand inaugural ceremony.
We extend our heartfelt congratulations to Dr. Biswas on this remarkable international recognition.
Sankara Nethralaya Consultants Honoured at APAO-AIOS 2025; Founder Dr. S. S. Badrinath Receives Posthumous Eyecon Award
The 40th Asia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology (APAO) Congress, held in conjunction with the 83rd Annual Conference of the All India Ophthalmological Society (AIOS), concluded on April 6 at Yashobhoomi, New Delhi.
During the four-day event, Sankara Nethralaya founder Dr. S.S. Badrinath was posthumously honoured with the prestigious Eyecon Award.
Several members of Sankara Nethralaya were also recognised for their contributions. Dr. Lingam Gopal and Dr. Jyotirmay Biswas were named among the Asia-Pacific Eye 100, a list of the region’s top 100 ophthalmologists. Additional honours were bestowed upon Dr. Prema Padmanaban, Dr. T.S. Surendran, and Dr. Vineet Ratra during the ceremony.
Sankara Nethralaya Confers Sankara Ratna Award on S. Ramadorai; TN Minister Palanivel Thiagarajan Presents Award
Sankara Nethralaya conferred the prestigious Sankara Ratna Award on S. Ramadorai, former CEO and MD of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), in recognition of his transformative contributions to nation-building. The award was presented by Tamil Nadu’s Minister for Information Technology and Digital Services, Dr. Palanivel Thiagarajan, at a ceremony held at Taj Coromandel, Chennai, on Thursday, March 27.
Instituted in 2002, the Sankara Ratna Award honors individuals who have demonstrated exceptional leadership and societal impact. Past recipients include industry stalwarts such as Ratan N. Tata, A.M. Naik, Deepak Parekh, and Madhavan Nair.
Dr. Thiagarajan lauded Ramadorai’s leadership, noting that under his tenure, TCS grew from a $155 million company to a $6 billion enterprise. “It is not a simple achievement, and such success stories are very rare. Only a special person would be able to accomplish that,” he said.
In his acceptance speech, Ramadorai acknowledged the Tata Group’s longstanding association with Sankara Nethralaya, citing Jamshedji Tata’s belief that businesses exist to serve the community. He credited the late Nani Palkhivala’s support for the institution’s establishment and highlighted TCS’s early contributions to hospital management systems, which laid the foundation for integrating technology into healthcare.
“As CEO of TCS, I had the privilege of partnering with Sankara Nethralaya to implement the Tata Hospital Management System and develop an advanced Ophthalmic Electronic Medical Record (EMR) system to enhance patient care,” Ramadorai said. He emphasized the need to expand world-class, affordable healthcare to remote regions of India.
Dr. T. S. Surendran Recognized for Healthcare Philanthropy at Humanitarian Awards 2025
Dr. T. S. Surendran, Chairman of Sankara Nethralaya, was honored with the Excellence in Healthcare Philanthropy award at the Humanitarian Awards 2025, held at the Sheraton Grand Chennai Resort and Spa.
Dr. Surendran, a veteran in ophthalmology, has dedicated his career to expanding access to quality eye care, particularly for underserved communities. Under his leadership, Sankara Nethralaya has strengthened its efforts in combating preventable blindness and providing advanced treatments to patients across India.
The Humanitarian Awards, curated by journalist and social activist Apsara Reddy, recognize individuals making significant contributions to social causes.
RC Madras Temple City Honors Dr. Nirmala Subramaniam with Lifetime Achievement Award
Dr. Nirmala Subramanian is a visionary leader in Education and Empowerment. Since 1985, she has served as the Correspondent of Ganapathy Iyer Girls High School, which serves students from economically weaker backgrounds, dedicating her life to women’s empowerment through education. She strongly believes that education is the most powerful tool for empowering women.
She established an endowment fund to support the education ofunderprivileged girls. Under the “Know Your Chennai” Project, herinitiative helps students understand the history, culture, andsignificance of their city. She initiated computer education 25 yearsago for both teachers and students. She was instrumental in settingup the school’s first computer lab with internet access, empowering first generation learners with digital literacy.
Spearheaded the creation of an endowment by the family members of Prof. V. Lakshminarayanan, her father, to promote scientific awareness and curiosity among students.
Dr. Nirmala Subramanian, a distinguished Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon, has been a pioneer in Cosmetic Surgery .With her strong academic foundation and extensive surgical expertise, she has played a pivotal role in advancing oculoplastyand aesthetic surgery in India. She was instrumental in establishing an exclusive Orbital and Reconstructive Surgery department at Sankara Nethralaya.as envisioned by Chairman Emeritus Dr. S. S. Badrinath . Thisdepartment diagnoses and treats congenital anomalies, traumaticinjuries, and tumors affecting the eyelids and orbit.
The Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes her lifelong dedication to society and her groundbreaking work as a pioneering surgeon and educationist, which has transformed the lives of generations of girls.
Sankara Nethralaya received IPSC Award for 3rd Year in Row!
Out of 258 nominations (229 National & 29 International entries) from 78 Healthcare organizations across the globe, Sankara Nethralaya won the International Patient Safety Award 2025 under the category “Incidents and Safety Events leading to Improvements” at the 12th International Patient Safety Conference 2025, conducted by Apollo Hospitals.
Dr Jaichandran V V, Hospital Safety Committee (HSC) Chairperson received the award from Dr Sangita Reddy, Joint Managing Director, Apollo Hospitals and Mr Mduduzi Matsebula, Hon’ble Minister of Health, Eswatini, on 21st February, 2025, Delhi.
Dr Jaichandran V V Awarded – Hall of Fame Award 2025
Sankara Nethralaya family congratulates Dr Jaichandran V V, Deputy Director, Department of Anaesthesiology for the induction of “Hall of Fame Award 2025” at the Ganga Anaesthesia Refresher Course GARC 2025, Ganga Hospital Coimbatore 1st February 2025.
The award was given mainly for his excellent accomplishments in the field of Ophthalmic anaesthesia and also in the extracurricular field. The award was presented by Dr Bala Venkat J, India Society of Anesthesiologists ISA President
Ms. Manju, Senior Optometrist (Contact Lens), Bags IACLE’s ‘IMAGE OF THE YEAR 2024’ Award!
Congratulations to Ms. Manju, Senior Optometrist in our Contact Lens Department, for winning the “IMAGE OF THE YEAR – 2024” award by IACLE for her case on Lattice Corneal Dystrophy managed with a scleral lens.
This marks the second consecutive year our CL team has earned this prestigious honor!
35th Institutional Award Ceremony
The 35th Institutional Award Ceremony of the Medical and Vision Research Foundation was held on December 7, 2024, at the Dr V D Swami Auditorium, Sankara Nethralaya, Chennai.
Dr C Sylendra Babu, IPS (Retd), Former Director General of Police and Head of Police Force, Tamil Nadu, was the chief guest for the ceremony. Other distinguished luminaries in attendance were Dr T S Surendran, Chairman, Medical Research Foundation & Director, Pediatric Ophthalmology, Dr Smita Praveen, Director- Academics, Dr N Angayarkanni, Director- Laboratory Services, Dr A R Anand, Professor & Head, Microbiology Department, Coordinator – Vidyasagar Institute of Biomedical Technology and Sciences along with Dr Rashima Asokan, Professor – Elite School of Optometry and Dr N Anuradha, Principal – Elite School of Optometry.
During his address to the graduates, Dr C Sylendra Babu insisted on the importance of optometrists and their roles in the community. Dr N Anuradha and Dr A R Anand presented the academic reports of Elite School of Optometry and Vidyasagar Institute of Biomedical Technology and Sciences (VIBS) respectively. The event brought together proud parents and professionals of the institution for the much awaited ceremony.
On the day of the ceremony, 5 PhD scholars, 5 post graduates and 28 undergraduates of Optometry received their honors in addition to the best students of the first, second and third year of optometry. Institutional awards for various ophthalmology specialties and research were also presented. Furthermore, awards for Best Optometrist, Best Research Publication and Best Research in Optometry instituted by the Elite School of Optometry Alumni Association, as well as awards for Best Junior & Senior faculty were also conferred to the recipients. ESO congratulates all the graduates and award recipients on this grand occasion!