MEET SHEKHAR MEHTA
Shekhar Mehta is only the 4th Indian in 116 years to be nominated as the President of Rotary International for the year 2021-22. Shekhar Mehta was born in 1959 in Kolkata India.
Service Initiatives
Through Rotary's areas of focus, we address critical humanitarian issues and create lasting change.
Health Initiatives- Kidney Dialysis Unit
Cognizing the need for Dialysis Machines in the state of West Bengal, India; where patients with kidney ailments had to travel from far off rural areas to avail Dialysis; Shekhar Mehta led the Rotary Club of Kolkata Mahanagar to set up the Dialysis Centre in the heart of the city of Kolkata, in collaboration with the local Government body, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation. The Reverse Osmosis Plant and the Kidney Dialysis Machines were donated by Rotary. About 6000 patients could benefit from this annually.
COVID 19 Pandemic Initiatives
At the onset of the COVID pandemic beginning 2020, Shekhar Mehta has been actively involved in strengthening Rotary’s response to COVID-19 in India. Under his leadership, Rotarians in India donated 1300 million INR towards the PM Cares Fund, Government of India to help the country fight the pandemic. Leading from the front, Mehta did advocacy to the Rotary clubs across India to work with local governments and authorities to boost the vaccination roll out and delivery along with providing infrastructural support to hospitals and COVID-19 care facilities. A 400 bed Rotary COVID Hospital worth 140 million INR was set up in Erode, Tamil Nadu in June 2021 in a record time of 45 days. Pioneered launch of project and collaboration between Rotary India Humanity Foundation and United Way Bengaluru for providing Oxygen Concentrators and Oxygen Generating Plants across the country.
Disaster Management- 500 Houses Construction for Tsunami Survivors
After the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami which disrupted the Andaman and Nicobar islands, Shekhar Mehta got deeply involved in the Disaster Management activities in a humungous manner. The project, christened ‘Ashray- Our New Home’, involved building nearly 500 homes for families affected by the disaster in Hut Bay. More than 50,000 kilos of relief material was collected and shipped. Shekhar Mehta personally visited the site with a team to oversee construction, raising INR 2 crores from donors including international cricket teams.
Bloodline App
The ‘Bloodline App’ is the brain child of RI President Shekhar Mehta. The application has been designed to connect the nearby blood donor and the receiver without any aberrations. The main purpose of the BloodLine App is to create and manage a platform for all blood donors so as to address the blood crisis in times of contingency. Launched by Rotary Club of Calcutta Mahanagar, it serves as an emergency Blood Service to Donate Blood and Save Lives.
Literacy-T-E-A-C-H program
Shekhar Mehta is the architect of the T-E-A-C-H Program. Under the Basic Education and Literacy Area of Focus of Rotary International; the T-E-A-C-H program has been adopted by thousands of Rotarians across the country to achieve Total Literacy and Quality Education. It spans more than 25 states. The program includes Teacher Support, E-learning, Adult Literacy, Child Development, and Happy School components. It has partnerships with Government of India and NCERT to telecast e-learning content to millions of children.
Health-Heart Surgeries
Shekhar Mehta is instrumental in starting the Healing Little Hearts Program, designed to ease suffering and give a normal life to children with congenital heart diseases. He facilitated it to become a National Program. The program targets children from BPL families who cannot afford the surgery costs (1-2.5 Lakh INR). Mehta has been directly involved in 2500 pediatric heart surgeries, while Rotary Clubs across India have done around 20,000 surgeries.
Health- Eye Hospitals
Shekhar Mehta serves as a trustee of Operation Eyesight India. He has been instrumental in setting up 15 Eye Hospitals across India serving nearly 50,000 eye operations each year. These hospitals offer free medical services to poor people below the poverty line. Facilities include glaucoma care, pediatric ophthalmology, phaco surgery, and retina care.
Disaster Management-Shelter Kits
Shekhar Mehta, as trustee of Shelter Box UK, introduced the Shelter Kit program in India in 2005. Shelter Kits are trunks containing 52 essential items needed by a family immediately after a disaster. The program has served about 20 disasters, distributing more than 15,000 Shelter Kits helping about 75,000 disaster victims across India (Bihar, Kerala, Uttarakhand, etc.) and neighboring countries like Nepal.
Sanitation- Rural Toilets
Inspired by the Government of India's Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, Shekhar Mehta led the construction of over 6,000 toilets in rural areas. This initiative aims to improve public health and hygiene, providing dignity and a cleaner environment for thousands of villagers.
Featured Interviews
Watch exclusive interviews and messages from Shekhar Mehta about his vision for Rotary and service to humanity.