Leading public policy expert and healthcare leader Rajendra Pratap Gupta has been appointed as an advisor to the union minister for Health and Family Welfare. Gupta is currently a member of the Central Council of Health and Family Welfare, the apex advisory body of the Ministry for Health and Family Welfare.
Confirming the appointment, sources from the union health ministry said that the ministry has been seeking Gupta’s advice for many years on various issues, and his joining the ministry will be of immense help to them.
"With over two decades of experience as a policy leader, economist and healthcare expert, Gupta is likely to bring a fresh and practical perspective to the ministry," said K K Aggarwal, president, Heart Care Foundation of India (HCFI) and honorary secretary general of Indian Medical Association (IMA).
He has made innumerable contributions to public policy, innovation and healthcare over the past decade. We are hopeful he will play an instrumental role in helping streamlining the sector and help address the major gaps that exist in the healthcare system today, Aggarwal added.
Gupta had also handled key responsibilities in the country’s healthcare industry with his senior executive roles at IMS Health, Medicine Shoppe among others.
Author of a healthcare best- seller, "Healthcare Reforms in India – Making Up for Lost Decades", Gupta was credited for turning around IMS Health in Nepal in three months and turning around the Medicine Shoppe operations in India and other consumer brands in a short time.
He was also featured as "thought leader of the year" three years in a row, felicitated as the "global healthcare leader" of the year in 2012 by the Sherriff of Los Angeles, and featured amongst the "25 living legends of healthcare in India" in 2016.
Gupta is also the founder president of the Disease Management Association of India (DMAI), the only not-for-profit organisation in India having a special consultative status with the United Nations – ECOSEC. In 2010, the Government of Chhattisgarh incorporated his health reforms recommendations in its plans.
BW Reporters
Unnikrishnan is currently Senior Associate Editor with BW Businessworld at its Mumbai Bureau. During his two decades long journalistic career, he has received several media awards and recognitions. His articles on healthcare, life sciences and intellectual property rights (IPR) have been republished by several international blogs and journals.
