Dr. Devi Prasad Shetty: The Surgeon Who Listened to His Heart

When a young boy in the fifth standard heard his teacher announce that Dr. Christiaan Barnard had performed the world’s first heart transplant in Cape Town, South Africa, something extraordinary happened. That classroom moment in 1967 ignited a spark in the heart of a village boy from Karnataka—a spark that would one day illuminate the path to affordable healthcare for millions. This is the story of Dr. Devi Prasad Shetty, the man who proved that world-class healthcare need not be a privilege of the wealthy, but a right accessible to all.

The Village Boy: Early Life and Family Background

Dr. Devi Prasad Shetty was born on 8th May 1953 in Kinnigoli, a small village in the Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka. He was the eighth of nine children in the family of Bommaiya Shetty, who ran a chain of Udupi vegetarian restaurants in Mumbai. Growing up as the eighth child in such a large family, young Devi learnt early lessons in survival and standing out.

Life in the Shetty household was anything but ordinary. His mother had a unique parenting philosophy—she never interfered in children’s squabbles. Instead, she encouraged young Devi to fight his own battles and speak up for himself. This early training in self-advocacy would later become the foundation for his ability to challenge established healthcare norms and fight for the underprivileged.

The bullying he faced from his elder brothers and classmates at home and in school made him mentally strong. In response, he took up bodybuilding and trained in martial arts for eight to nine years, developing the physical and mental resilience that would serve him throughout his career.

Academically, young Devi faced his own battles. Mathematics proved to be his recurring nightmare. However, his drawing teacher, Achutha Acharya, recognised his potential and began tutoring him in mathematics. This extra help led to success in a district-level examination, boosting Dr. Shetty’s confidence significantly.

Despite these varied challenges, Dr. Shetty always knew what he wanted to become. “I always knew I wanted to be a heart surgeon. I was in fifth standard when the teacher told us about Christiaan Barnard…how he did the first heart transplant in Cape Town, South Africa. I was so fascinated. I didn’t even know you had to become a doctor first. I was so naive, but my heart was set,” he recalls. One classroom announcement had shaped his entire life’s direction.

Watching his parents getting older and falling ill made him realise the importance of the medical profession and develop a passion for it. A childhood incident also left an indelible mark on his purpose. He recalls hearing his mother speak to a distant relative in Mumbai about a surgeon who not only saved a child’s life but also offered his services at no cost. “I could hear my mother blessing the mother of that surgeon for giving birth to such a wonderful person, and ended up saying that this world is still a wonderful place because of people like him. That was the time I found the purpose of my life, the purpose of bringing happiness to all the children of this world,” he remembers.

The Educational Journey: From Mangalore to London

Dr. Shetty began his educational journey at St. Aloysius School in Mangaluru. He completed his MBBS from Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore, in 1979, followed by post-graduate work in General Surgery from the same institution in 1982.

However, Dr. Shetty quickly realised that India in the 1980s had limited opportunities for advanced cardiac surgery training. Determined to pursue his childhood dream, he made the difficult decision to study abroad. From 1983 to 1989, he trained in cardiac surgery at prestigious institutions in the United Kingdom under the National Health Service. His training took place at Guy’s Hospital and Brompton Hospital in London, where he worked alongside some of the world’s leading cardiac surgeons.

During his time in the UK, Dr. Shetty earned the FRCS (Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons, England), a qualification that would have allowed him to settle comfortably in the UK or Ireland with a flourishing career. The exposure to the National Health Service gave him invaluable insights into large-scale healthcare delivery systems and shaped his understanding of how healthcare could be made accessible to all.

Yet, despite the lucrative offers from London, Dr. Shetty never forgot his pledge. In 1989, he turned down high-paying opportunities abroad and returned to India with a mission—to help the millions in his country who were suffering from or dying of heart diseases.

The Early Pioneer: B.M. Birla Hospital, Kolkata (1989-2000)

Upon his return to India, Dr. Shetty faced initial setbacks. He tried to get a job at St. John’s Medical College Hospital in Bangalore, but they refused, saying he was “too young to be a heart surgeon”. However, the Birla family in Kolkata was willing to give him a chance. Mrs. Ganga Somani, B.M. Birla’s sister, looked at the young Dr. Shetty sceptically and said he looked too young to perform heart operations. To prove himself, Dr. Shetty invited her to Guy’s Hospital to watch him operate. She travelled to London, spent an entire day in the operating theatre watching him perform two complex surgeries, and then declared, “Yes, now you can do it. I’ll offer you the job”. This is how Dr. Shetty’s Indian career began at B.M. Birla Hospital in Kolkata.

Historic Milestone: India’s First Neonatal Heart Surgery

In 1992, Dr. Shetty achieved what many thought impossible. He successfully performed India’s first neonatal heart surgery on a 21-day-old baby named Ronnie (some sources mention a nine-day-old baby). This groundbreaking procedure changed Indian paediatric cardiac care forever and established Dr. Shetty as a true pioneer. The surgery proved that complex cardiac procedures could be performed on newborns in India, meaning families no longer needed to go abroad for treatment—a game-changer for countless Indian families.

The Mother Teresa Connection: A Life-Changing Relationship

The most profound influence on Dr. Shetty’s life came from an unexpected source. In 1996, Mother Teresa suffered a heart attack, and Dr. Shetty was called to operate on her. He performed angioplasty and saved her life. This began a sacred bond that lasted until she died in 1997. Dr. Shetty served as her personal physician for the last five years of her life.

Mother Teresa often accompanied Dr. Shetty during hospital rounds to watch him work with young patients. Their relationship transcended the typical doctor-patient dynamic. She imparted to him a profound spiritual teaching that would define his life’s mission. One day, she told him something that changed everything: “God sent you here to treat them”. She was referring to the poor—those who couldn’t afford healthcare.

Mother Teresa’s teachings about simplicity, humility, and focus on the underprivileged became the guiding light of Dr. Shetty’s philosophy. She particularly encouraged him to find a way to help the poor access heart surgeries. Her influence made him realise that his purpose wasn’t just to be an excellent surgeon, but to make that excellence accessible to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay.

The job description Mother Teresa gave him—to treat those who couldn’t afford healthcare—became his life’s calling.

The Visionary Entrepreneur: Founding Narayana Health (2001-Present)

The Birth of a Revolutionary Model

By the late 1990s, Dr. Shetty had relocated to Bangalore. With the financial support of his father-in-law, construction magnate Charmakki Narayana Shetty, he first established the Manipal Heart Foundation at Manipal Hospitals. However, his vision extended far beyond a single hospital.

When he returned to India, Dr. Shetty had realised something that troubled him deeply. He had assumed that as a country grew richer, healthcare would naturally become more accessible. But during his training in the UK and exposure to the US healthcare system, he saw that it wasn’t the case. “I saw the richest country in the world, the United States, struggling to provide healthcare to its citizens. That meant that India’s becoming rich would not necessarily translate into affordable healthcare for everyone,” he explains.

This realisation turned into his life’s mission: to build a system where healthcare was not a luxury but a right. In 2001, Dr. Shetty founded Narayana Hrudayalaya (now Narayana Health) in Bommasandra, Bangalore. The venture started modestly—with an investment of just ₹1.6 lakh and a clear goal: to deliver world-class heart care at a fraction of the cost.

His vision was revolutionary: to reduce healthcare costs by 50% through economies of scale, without compromising on quality. Dr. Shetty famously adopted the “Henry Ford of Heart Surgery” philosophy—applying mass production principles to quality healthcare delivery.

Economies of Scale: The Secret to Affordability

Dr. Shetty’s approach was fundamentally different. Whilst typical heart hospitals across the world might perform a few heart surgeries per week, Narayana Health performs 30 to 35 major heart surgeries every single day. This high volume creates economies of scale that dramatically bring down costs.

He implemented innovative cost-cutting measures without compromising quality:

Using cheaper but equally effective medical scrubs
Employing cross-ventilation instead of expensive air-conditioning systems in certain areas
Negotiating bulk purchases of medical supplies and equipment
Training family members to provide post-operative nursing care through a special four-hour programme, reducing staffing needs significantly

These measures, combined with operational efficiency, allowed Narayana Health to offer heart surgeries at costs that were a fraction of what hospitals charged abroad—and even a fraction of other Indian private hospitals.

Expansion: Building a Healthcare Empire

What started as a single hospital has grown into one of India’s largest healthcare networks. Today, Narayana Health operates 47 healthcare facilities (some sources cite 42-47) across India, with over 6,000 operational beds. The network includes:

Narayana Institute of Cardiac Sciences in Bangalore
Rabindranath Tagore International Institute of Cardiac Sciences (RTIICS) in Kolkata
Multiple specialised centres across different Indian states
32 hospitals are handling approximately 12% of all heart surgeries in India

The facilities specialise not just in cardiology but have expanded to neurosurgery, paediatric cardiac surgery, haematology, transplant services, nephrology, oncology, and more.

Dr. Devi Prasad Shetty presents a memento to the External Affairs Minister, Dr. S. Jaishankar

Technology as an Enabler

From day one, Dr. Shetty knew that the future of healthcare was digital. Whilst other hospitals were still transitioning to digital records, Narayana Health invested ₹600 crore in building its own comprehensive digital platform. “When everyone developed digital healthcare solutions for desktops, we moved to the cloud. We were also the first to adopt a mobile-first approach,” says Dr. Shetty.

The hospital also integrated robotics and AI-driven diagnostics to reduce dependency on high-cost specialists. “The biggest cost in a hospital is manpower, and AI can significantly enhance the efficiency of doctors,” he notes.

In 2018, Dr. Shetty developed and patented an algorithm titled “System and Method for Facilitating Delivery of Patient Care”. This innovation employs digital health platforms, patient monitoring systems, electronic health records, telemedicine tools, and decision support systems—all aimed at improving care coordination, communication between providers and patients, remote monitoring capabilities, data analytics for personalised treatment plans, and overall efficiency in delivering quality patient-centred care.

The Social Reformer: Yeshasvini and Affordable Healthcare

Yeshasvini Micro-Health Insurance Scheme

One of Dr. Shetty’s most transformative social innovations was the Yeshasvini Micro-Health Insurance Scheme, launched in 2003 in partnership with the Government of Karnataka.

The concept emerged when Dr. Shetty noticed that the low utilisation of hospital beds was not due to a lack of services but due to the inability of poor people to pay for services. He realised that the high cost of healthcare was creating indebtedness for the poor.

Dr. Shetty and a group of doctors conceived the scheme to demonstrate that health insurance could be extended to the poor. The scheme was brilliantly simple: rural farmers and cooperative society members could access comprehensive medical care, including major surgeries, for a nominal premium of just ₹5-7 per month (approximately 6-8 cents in US dollars).

The scheme was managed by the Yeshasvini Cooperative Farmers Health Care Trust, chaired by the Principal Secretary, Cooperation Department, Government of Karnataka. It was implemented through a partnership with the Government of Karnataka, cooperative societies, cooperative banks, Family Health Plan Limited (FHPL), and a network of over 600 hospitals across Karnataka.

The impact was staggering. Over 4 million people enrolled, making it one of the largest micro-insurance programmes in the world. When the scheme concluded after running for about 12 to 13 years, approximately 1.5 million farmers had benefited from surgeries and treatments.

The success of Yeshasvini inspired similar schemes in other Indian states, including Rajiv Aarogyasree in Andhra Pradesh and Kalaingar Insurance in Tamil Nadu.

Telemedicine: Reaching the Unreachable

In 2002, Dr. Shetty pioneered telemedicine in India—long before telehealth became a global buzzword. He envisioned that technology could bridge the vast geographical barriers preventing rural Indians from accessing specialist care.

Narayana Health, in association with ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation), established the world’s largest telemedicine network. The network initially connected 19 centres worldwide and has since expanded to over 800 centres. The programme extends to Africa through the PAN-African satellite network, connecting over 56 African cities.

The telemedicine programme has provided consultations to over 53,000 patients without any cost. Dr. Shetty’s vision was clear: “In terms of disease management, there is a 99% possibility that the unwell person does not require an operation. If you don’t operate, you don’t need to touch the patient. And if you don’t need to touch the patient, you don’t need to be there. You can be anywhere, since the decision on healthcare management is based on history and interpretation of images and chemistry … so technically speaking, 99% of healthcare problems can be managed by the doctors staying at a remote place—linked by telemedicine”.

Through telemedicine, Dr. Shetty could speak to doctors and patients in Chamrajnagar, Siliguri, Bankura, Udaipur, Chittagong, Mauritius, and Zambia—all at one go. He could summon young heart patients to Bangalore for immediate treatment after examining them remotely. As he poignantly noted, “My teachers were able to touch and treat a patient, and I’m able to do so only by seeing”.

Global Expansion: Health City Cayman Islands

In 2012, Dr. Shetty took his affordable healthcare model international. He established Health City Cayman Islands, a 104-bed multispecialty tertiary hospital that cost $70 million to set up. The first leg of his Caribbean venture became operational in 2014.

The location was strategic: near the American shore, but outside stringent US regulations. The Cayman Islands facility offered about 30% discount compared to US healthcare rates, with promises of deeper cuts in the future.

The entire health city plan envisaged 2,000 beds, a medical university, and an assisted-living centre over the next 10 years, with a total investment of $2 billion. The British Caribbean territory changed some of its regulations to accommodate Dr. Shetty’s vision. Most significantly, it became the second government after India globally to recognise the Indian medical degree.

A team of 70 Indian doctors, technicians, and nurses operated the facility in the first phase. Dr. Shetty used the time difference between Western countries and India as an advantage: “Nowhere in the world, patients even in the ICU are attended to by top doctors in the middle of the night, but that would be possible now with senior doctors in our Bangalore hospital connected to the Cayman facility”.

The venture demonstrated that the Indian model of affordable, high-quality healthcare could work globally.

Personal Life and Family

Dr. Devi Shetty is married to Shakuntala Shetty. The couple has four children: Viren Shetty, Dr. Varun Shetty, Ameya Shetty, and one more child. His family has largely maintained a private life, away from the public eye.

Dr. Varun Shetty has followed in his father’s footsteps, pursuing a career in medicine. Viren Shetty, the eldest son, initially pursued Civil Engineering from RV College of Engineering, Bangalore, and later earned an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business, California. Today, Viren serves as one of the directors at Narayana Health and is the Chief Operating Officer. Interestingly, unlike his father and younger brother, Viren did not initially want to pursue medicine—but he found his calling in the business side of healthcare.

Growing up in a family with an ace cardiac surgeon as a father was challenging for the children. Viren recalls living in a room converted into a flat in the semi-furnished B.M. Birla Hospital in Kolkata for the first couple of months when his father was setting up the hospital. “We used to see him during breakfasts or if we were lucky, on Sundays as well. That’s pretty much what I do right now as a father,” says Viren, who now spends weekends at the family’s farmhouse.

Dr. Shetty’s wife, Shakuntala, single-handedly brought up the children whilst he was absorbed in building hospitals and performing surgeries. Dr. Shetty acknowledges, “I am very grateful to my wife because she has single-handedly brought up the kids. I was not around much, but yes, my children define my existence”.

When Dr. Shetty and his family were living in England during his training years, Shakuntala wasn’t happy at all. “My entire job was to work very, very hard, collect some 300 pounds, and she would buy the ticket to go back to India or to the US, where her sister was,” Dr. Shetty recalls. He adds, “She was unhappy, the children were growing up, obviously I didn’t want my children to be brought up in England”. This family’s desire also contributed to his decision to return to India.

The Shetty family maintains a 75% stake in Narayana Health, which Dr. Shetty intends to preserve.

Philosophy and Principles

Dr. Shetty’s philosophy is rooted in the profound belief that healthcare should be dissociated from affluence. “I believe that India can become the first country to dissociate healthcare from affluence and will prove to the world that the wealth of the nation has nothing to do with the quality of healthcare. It will not take a lifetime but only 5 years if implemented,” he states confidently.

His personal principle is unwavering: never decline surgery based on inability to pay. This commitment ensures that Narayana Health provides substantial free care, especially for poor children. Dr. Shetty’s motivational philosophy is equally profound: “Purpose of life is not money; money is like oxygen”.

He firmly believes in the power of purpose over profit. “I’m convinced that when you strive to work for a purpose, which is not about profiting yourself or your own personal interest, if the purpose of your action is to help society, mankind on a large scale, cosmic forces ensure that all the required components come in place and your dream becomes a reality. I do not doubt it,” he shares.

On healthcare costs, he maintains, “If healthcare solutions cannot be afforded by the poor, then it is not a solution. Solution will be when everyone can afford it”.

His approach to healthcare entrepreneurship is pragmatic: “I always wanted to work for a big hospital and reach out to as many people as possible. I always wanted to have the freedom to tell people that you don’t have to pay much for a surgery if you don’t have the required money”.

On empathy, he notes, “In healthcare, you need to be comfortable in dealing with people. You should have the sense of empathy and belonging towards strangers you are dealing with and make them feel comfortable”.

Dr. Shetty’s vision extends to dissociating healthcare from national wealth. He confidently asserts, “India will become the first country in the world to dissociate healthcare from affluence. India will prove that you do not have to be a rich country to offer quality healthcare to your citizens”.

Awards, Recognition, and Honours

Dr. Devi Shetty’s exceptional contributions to healthcare have earned him numerous prestigious awards and honours:

Government Honours

Padma Bhushan (2012) — India’s third-highest civilian award
Padma Shri (2004) — India’s fourth-highest civilian award, for Medicine
Karnataka Ratna — Karnataka’s highest civilian award

International Recognition

The Economist Innovation Award in Business Process (2011) — For his innovative approach to reducing healthcare costs
Financial Times Arcelor Mittal ‘Boldness in Business’ Award
Nikkei Asia Prize for Economic and Business Innovation
Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year
Schwab Foundation’s Award (2005) — Presented at the World Economic Forum for Social Entrepreneurship
Sir M. Visvesvaraya Memorial Award

Academic Honours

Dr. Shetty has received honorary doctorates from several prestigious institutions:

University of Minnesota
IIT Madras (Doctor of Science, 2014)
IIT Kanpur

Other Recognition

Featured in TIME Magazine’s list of 50 most influential people in healthcare
Subject of Harvard Business School case study
Featured in Netflix’s BBC-produced documentary “The Surgeon’s Cut” (2020), profiling just four ground-breaking surgeons worldwide
Forbes Billionaires List (Net worth: $2.6 billion as of 2024)

COVID-19 Leadership

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Karnataka Government appointed Dr. Devi Shetty as Chairman of the state’s COVID-19 Task Force to prepare for the potential third wave. The appointment was announced by Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa in May 2021, following the Karnataka High Court’s directive to present a roadmap for tackling a third wave.

As head of the task force, Dr. Shetty laid out a three-pronged strategy to speed up the pace of vaccination: India should buy as one, buy in bulk, and work with private hospitals.

During the third wave in 2022, Dr. Shetty provided a crucial perspective based on observations at Narayana Health. Despite the high positivity rates (reaching over 50% at their facilities), ICU admissions remained remarkably low—only 20-23 patients compared to hundreds during the second wave. “The COVID that we saw in the second wave and the COVID right now are dramatically different,” he noted.

Dr. Shetty advocated for a pragmatic approach: “There is no point in doing these many tests and creating a panic situation. We have to do the test as we do for Dengue, Malaria, Tuberculosis; wherein if somebody has symptoms, only then do we test”.

However, his appointment and some of his statements were not without controversy. Some global health experts criticised his approach, arguing that as a cardiac surgeon, he lacked an epidemiological perspective on COVID-19 management.

Business Growth and Financial Performance

Public Listing

In 2015, Narayana Hrudayalaya (now Narayana Health) launched its Initial Public Offering (IPO). The IPO opened on 17th December 2015 and closed on 21st December 2015. It was a book-built issue of ₹613.08 crores, offering 24,523,297 equity shares of face value ₹10 each, at a price band of ₹245 to ₹250 per share. The shares got listed on BSE and NSE on 6th January 2016.

The offer for sale included shares from promoter selling shareholders, including 2,043,608 equity shares each by Dr. Devi Prasad Shetty and Shakuntala Shetty. Despite this partial divestment, the Shetty family maintained a significant stake in the company.

Notable investor Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw of Biocon also holds stock in Narayana Health.

Recent Financial Performance

Narayana Health has demonstrated strong financial growth in recent years. In Financial Year 2023-24, the company achieved its highest-ever revenue and profitability margins:

Consolidated revenue: ₹5,018 crores (10.9% year-on-year increase)
EBITDA: ₹1,228 crores with a 24.5% margin
Profit After Tax: ₹790 crores, reflecting a 15.7% margin

The company has invested ₹2,000 crores over the last three years, including ₹900 crores in FY24, across India and the Cayman Islands. Plans include adding approximately 1,435 beds through greenfield and brownfield projects in Bangalore, Kolkata, and Raipur.

Health Insurance Venture

On 8th January 2024, Narayana Health Insurance Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary, received a licence from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) to operate as a standalone health insurance company. This made Narayana Health the first hospital group in India to start its own insurance company.

The company has launched two insurance products:

ADITI — Offering surgical coverage of up to ₹1 crore and ₹5 lakh for medical management
Arya — Targeting significant shortcomings within the Indian health insurance landscape

Dr. Shetty’s vision is to provide health coverage for working-class families earning ₹20,000 to ₹60,000 per month. “The entire family should be covered for any type of surgery up to one crore rupees” at an annual premium of just ₹10,000, he explains.

Controversies and Challenges

Medical Regulation Protests

In March 2019, Dr. Shetty stood shoulder to shoulder with doctors across Karnataka in protest against the Karnataka Private Medical Establishments (Amendment) Bill 2017. The controversial bill proposed draconian provisions, including imprisonment of doctors seen to have erred, and Dr. Shetty called it “unfortunate”.

“Over six bodies are already investigating any form of negligence, based on patient complaints, and now the Government wants to add another one! What is more shocking is that we are not even allowed to represent ourselves through a lawyer. It is as if our profession is being equated with criminals and goons. My main concern is that you cannot imprison doctors. It is, after all, a noble profession,” he stated.

The protest saw Narayana Health join the strike, affecting 5,000 outpatients daily and cancelling close to 100 surgeries a day. Some 600 clinics and 6,000 hospitals across the state shut down, with approximately 22,000 doctors stopping services indefinitely.

Medical Education Criticism

Dr. Shetty has been vocal about what he calls the “elitist” nature of medical education in India. “Today, what we have done is make medical education an elitist affair. Poor children from—when I was a young medical student, my classmates were all children from poor families,” he notes.

He criticises the shortage of undergraduate and postgraduate medical seats and outdated curricula that haven’t changed even as the world has evolved. “Medical education has become an elitist affair,” he maintains, calling for reforms that would make medical training more accessible and relevant.

Deepfake Incidents

In 2024, Dr. Shetty became a victim of AI-generated deepfakes. Videos featuring him and news anchor Anjana Om Kashyap were digitally manipulated to falsely promote a dubious joint pain relief oil. The manipulated videos used altered audio, making it appear as if Dr. Shetty was endorsing the product.

Investigation revealed that the videos were deepfakes, with audio fabricated using artificial intelligence and lip movements not matching the background audio track. The website selling the oil lacked proper company information, certifications were fake, and there was no scientific evidence supporting the product’s claims.

These incidents led to legal action. In 2024, the Delhi High Court protected Dr. Shetty’s personality rights in a suit seeking a permanent injunction restraining infringement of his personality and publicity rights. Dr. Shetty’s lawyers successfully argued that he was a celebrity in his own right with valid and enforceable personality rights that were being violated.

Execution Delays

In some instances, Narayana Health has faced challenges in completing hospital construction within stipulated timeframes. In places such as Orissa, West Bengal, and Malaysia, the company did not complete construction of hospitals within the stipulated time period post land allotment, which could have led to confiscation of land. This indicates occasional delays in execution capabilities.

Financial Challenges

The Cayman Islands venture initially posted losses. In FY15, the 1.5-year-old associate hospital in the Cayman Islands posted a loss of ₹25 crores, which contributed to Narayana Health’s bottom line being in the red with a net loss of ₹11 crores for that year.

Vision for the Future

Dr. Shetty’s vision for the future of healthcare extends far beyond his current achievements. He plans to expand to 30,000 beds across India, Africa, and Asia. The company is in talks with authorities in several European and African countries, pressing them to recognise Indian doctors and degrees.

He is committed to training future generations of doctors from underserved regions and championing digital technologies for safe, efficient, and equitable healthcare delivery. “We are one of the largest institutions transforming MBBS doctors into specialists,” says Dr. Shetty. Narayana Health trains cardiac surgeons, cardiologists, anaesthetists, and intensivists, and also runs nursing and paramedical colleges.

Dr. Shetty warns of growing challenges, particularly India’s dependence on imported medical equipment. “The rupee is depreciating at a rapid pace. Today, we spend much more than American or European hospitals on buying CT scanners, MRIs, implants, and disposables,” he says. To address this, Narayana Health is collaborating with Indian start-ups and manufacturers to develop homegrown medical technology.

His ultimate dream remains unchanged: “What we have done so far is nothing compared to what we can and should do. I believe that India can become the first country to dissociate healthcare from affluence and will prove to the world that the wealth of the nation has nothing to do with the quality of healthcare”.

Looking ahead, Dr. Shetty predicts that developed countries will have to look at Indian healthcare models in the next seven to eight years to contain costs. “Healthcare is a sticky issue for most countries, even in the developed world, and each one is looking for a solution. Just that they are yet to arrive on the brink of desperation, and when that happens, Indian models will definitely have a few lessons to offer”.

Legacy and Impact

At 71 years old (as of 2024), Dr. Devi Prasad Shetty has transformed cardiac surgery and healthcare access in India through a four-decade-long medical career. His journey from a village boy who heard about a heart transplant in the fifth standard to becoming a global healthcare revolutionary is nothing short of extraordinary.

He has personally performed over 15,000 to 20,000 heart surgeries, including pioneering complex procedures on newborns and children. His innovations include heart surgeries on newborn babies, pulmonary endarterectomy, redo heart surgeries, valve repairs in infants, and the use of microchip cameras for minimally invasive heart surgeries.

The Narayana Health model has demonstrated that high surgical volume, operational efficiency, and technology integration can deliver world-class healthcare at dramatically reduced costs. The hospital network now serves millions of patients annually, performs approximately 12% of all heart surgeries in India, and has inspired similar initiatives across the country and globally.

The Yeshasvini health insurance scheme showed the world that micro-insurance could work at scale, protecting over 4 million people. The telemedicine network has provided free consultations to over 53,000 patients and continues to bridge the urban-rural healthcare divide.

Dr. Shetty’s net worth is estimated between $85 million to $2.6 billion, depending on sources, yet Forbes estimates it at $1.4 billion. Despite this enormous wealth, his focus remains firmly on humanitarian healthcare.

What makes Dr. Shetty’s legacy truly remarkable is that he has proven a revolutionary concept: that compassion is not charity—it can be a powerful business model. Scale brings affordability. Technology is the great equaliser. And most importantly, healthcare leadership must always keep humanity at its core.

Books and Publications

Dr. Shetty has been featured in and has contributed to several publications:

“10 Indian Heroes Who Help People Live With Dignity” by Somak Ghoshal (Penguin, 2021) — Features a chapter titled “The Healer of Damaged Hearts” about Dr. Shetty’s life
“Dr. Devi Prasad Shetty” by Raghunatha (Vasantha Prakashana, 2010) — A biography in Kannada
“Communicate Care. Cure – A Guide to Healthcare Communication” by Dr. Alexander Thomas and Dr. Devi Prasad Shetty (3rd Edition)

Dr. Shetty has also shared his reading list, citing books that influenced his approach to healthcare:

The Bhagavad Gita — For spiritual and philosophical guidance
“Who Moved My Cheese?” by Spencer Johnson — Helped him “reimagine the future of healthcare”
The Lean Startup principles

Conclusion: The Heart that Listens

The story of Dr. Devi Prasad Shetty is not just about medical excellence or entrepreneurial success—it is about listening to one’s heart in the truest sense. From the moment a young boy heard about Dr. Christiaan Barnard’s historic heart transplant, through the profound influence of Mother Teresa, to building a healthcare empire that serves millions, Dr. Shetty has remained true to his calling.

He listened when Mother Teresa told him, “God sent you here to treat them.” He listened when poor patients told him they couldn’t afford surgeries. He listened to his own heart when it told him to reject lucrative offers abroad and return to serve his country. And he continues to listen—to patients, to the demands of changing times, to the possibilities of technology, and to the fundamental truth that healthcare is a human right, not a privilege.

Dr. Shetty’s life demonstrates that when you combine exceptional skill with unwavering compassion, when you align business acumen with social purpose, and when you refuse to accept that quality healthcare must be expensive, extraordinary transformations become possible.

“The poorest man and the wealthiest man should have no difference when it comes to the question of falling sick and seeking care,” he maintains. “You can have disparity in conveniences—you may not have money to build a house or a car or enjoy all the comforts—but when you are in pain, you shouldn’t suffer”.

Today, as he approaches his eighth decade, Dr. Devi Prasad Shetty continues his mission with the same passion that ignited in that fifth-standard classroom. His work has touched millions of lives, trained thousands of doctors, inspired healthcare reforms globally, and proved to the world that affordable, world-class healthcare is not just a dream—it is achievable.

The surgeon who listened to his heart has, in turn, helped millions of hearts beat stronger, live longer, and hope for a healthier tomorrow. His legacy will endure not just in the hospitals he built or the surgeries he performed, but in the fundamental shift in thinking he has inspired: that every human life, regardless of wealth or status, deserves the chance to be healed.

Must Read: From Failure to Fame: The Inspiring Journey of Dr. D. Nageshwar Reddy

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The Surgeon Who Listened to His Heart: Dr. Devi Prasad Shetty