“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 at an event.
“And from the statistics I have here, he (Ramadorai) took the company from a $155 million revenue business to a $6 billion revenue business-something like 40 times, or I should say 400 times (growth). These kinds of scaling are not simple,” Rajan said.
The Minister said this while presenting the ‘Sankara Ratna 2024’ award, established by the city-based eye care provider Sankara Nethralaya, in honour of Ramadorai’s transformative contributions to nation-building.
Former Chairman of the diversified conglomerate Tata Group and the late iconic industrialist Ratan N Tata, former ISRO Chairman Madhavan Nair, and Larsen & Toubro Chairman Emeritus A M Naik are among the past recipients of the Sankara Ratna Award.
Rajan also praised Ramadorai for establishing an ‘Electronic Network System’ at Sankara Nethralaya, adding that it was a testament to his character and broad vision in offering IT services to the eye care provider.
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It is an honour for both sides-Ramadorai as the recipient of the award and Sankara Nethralaya, where he has contributed significantly, he added. In his acceptance speech, Ramadorai said, “Receiving the Sankara Ratna Award 2024 from Sankara Nethralaya-an institution that has transformed the landscape of eye care-is both humbling and deeply inspiring. I am truly honored.”
Observing that Sankara Nethralaya’s model serves as a “blueprint” for delivering world-class, affordable healthcare, Ramadorai, also the recipient of the Padma Bhushan, emphasised the urgent need to expand such initiatives to remote areas, particularly in regions like Northeast India.
“Sankara Nethralaya’s mission aligns seamlessly with the UN resolution of ‘Vision for Everyone’, adopted in 2021,” he added.
Ramadorai expressed hope that artificial intelligence (AI) and telemedicine solutions would play a key role in enhancing healthcare, while predictive AI was already advancing ophthalmology through applications such as diabetic retinopathy progression and cataract surgery outcome prediction, enabling early diagnosis.
“By fostering public-private partnerships, strategic investments in health-focused startups, and integrating preventive technologies into everyday life, we can improve the accessibility, effectiveness and affordability of healthcare, reducing disease burdens and improving overall quality of life,” he said.
Agreeing with Rajan’s view that AI has immense potential when applied to vast amounts of medical data, Ramadorai added, “At the same time, we must work towards building robust guardrails to ensure the ethical and responsible use of AI. However, no technological advancement will be meaningful without human connection-without empathy and compassion.”