D. Nageshwar Reddy

D. Nageshwar Reddy made Hyderabad a world centre for endoscopy, the use of slender cameras to treat illnesses inside the digestive tract without open surgery. In 2025 he was named for the Padma Vibhushan, India’s second-highest civilian honour, in the field of medicine, from Telangana ^[2]. He had received the Padma Shri in 2002 and the Padma Bhushan in 2016 ^[1][3].

Training and the Asian Institute of Gastroenterology

Duvvur Nageshwar Reddy was born on 18 March 1956 ^[3]. He studied at Kurnool Medical College and Madras Medical College and trained in gastroenterology at PGIMER, Chandigarh ^[3]. After teaching at the Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences and Guntur Medical College, he founded the Asian Institute of Gastroenterology in 1994, which became the first institution in India recognised as a centre of excellence by the World Endoscopy Organization ^[3]. He now chairs AIG Hospitals ^[3].

His innovations include work on NOTES, a technique for surgery through natural openings in the body, and the NAGI stent ^[3]. He has written more than 1,000 research papers ^[3].

Care beyond the city

Through his Asian Healthcare Foundation, he deployed India’s first mobile endoscopy units to bring screening to rural areas, and his technician programme has trained thousands ^[3]. During the Covid-19 pandemic, his hospital’s research helped shape treatment protocols ^[3].

He was the first Indian to receive the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy’s Rudolf Schindler Award ^[3].