Award Announcement

Bayer’s Phygital Primary Health Centre (PHC) Telemedicine Centre Project, implemented by the not‑for‑profit Telerad Foundation, was honoured with the FKCCI Global CSR & Sustainability Award 2026 in the Excellence in Healthcare category. The award was presented on 23 July 2026 at the FKCCI Global CSR & Sustainability Summit in Bengaluru by Smt. Prabha Mallikarjuna, Member of Parliament for Davanagere. The summit, themed “Sustainability at Scale,” was inaugurated by Karnataka Chief Minister Shri D K Shivakumar and convened CSR leaders, government representatives and industry bodies.

The award jury, chaired by Prof P D Jose of IIM Bangalore and comprising CSR, sustainability, policy and industry experts, evaluated projects on impact, innovation, scalability, sustainability and governance.

Project Scope and Reach

The Phygital Telemedicine programme embeds telemedicine centres within fifteen government Primary Health Centres across Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat, including several NITI Aayog‑designated Aspirational Districts. The model operates as a public‑private partnership with the National Health Mission and district health administrations, providing services to 10.59 lakh individuals across 463 villages.

FY 2025‑26 Performance Metrics

During the financial year 2025‑26 the programme delivered:

  • 90,034 teleconsultations, of which 48 % involved specialist physicians.
  • 1,87,607 preventive health screenings.
  • Identification of 3,767 previously undiagnosed hypertension cases and 3,858 previously undiagnosed diabetes cases.
  • Detection of 283 high‑risk pregnancies, with 48 resulting in safe deliveries without complications.

Economic Impact

An internal economic impact analysis indicated that every Rs 1 invested in the programme generated Rs 2.57 of direct economic value for the rural households served.

Leadership and Quotes

The project is steered by Ashwani Sinha, Chief Impact Officer of Telerad Foundation, with on‑ground execution led by Suma S, Senior Operations Manager and Project Head. In commenting on the award, Dr Arjun Kalyanpur, Co‑Founder of Telerad Foundation, said the recognition validates the potential of the phygital telemedicine model to transform specialist care access in rural India and affirmed the foundation’s commitment to scaling the approach. Rachana Panda, Director of Bayer Foundation India, highlighted that the award reflects the impact of technology, strong public health systems and cross‑sector collaboration in delivering accessible specialist care.

About Telerad Foundation

Founded in 2007 by radiologist Dr Arjun Kalyanpur and paediatric cardiologist Dr Sunita Maheshwari, Telerad Foundation designs, builds and runs CSR, public‑private partnership and philanthropic healthcare projects. Its portfolio includes Phygital PHC, e‑Aarogya Kendra, AarogyaSakha, SwasthaSaarthi and the Apollo Tyres Healthcare Centres, all aimed at extending affordable, technology‑enabled care to underserved populations.

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