SHEKHAR MEHTA (PRESIDENT ROTARY INTERNATIONAL 2021-2022)
Shekhar Mehta is the 4th Indian in 116 years to be nominated as the President of Rotary International for the year 2021-22.
Shekhar was born in 1959 in Kolkata, India. A keen academician , he graduated from St. Xavier’s College ; and has the unique combination of Masters in Commerce, a qualified Chartered Accountant ,Cost Accountant and Company Secretary. He heads the Skyline Group engaged in Real Estate Development in different parts of India, including the largest group housing in the state of Rajasthan .
Shekhar Mehta is a member of many professional, cultural and charitable organizations. Mehta has served as trustee of Shelter Box ; and is a trustee of Operation Eyesight India, a Canada based organization.
Shekhar Mehta joined Rotary in 1985 .He is a member of the Rotary Club of Calcutta Mahanagar. He served as a District Governor in 1999-2000 and was elevated to the Board of Directors of Rotary International, where he served as Director from 2011 to 2013. While serving as Rotary International Director, he helped Rotary add two countries to its fold – Bhutan and Maldives.
Shekhar Mehta has held the position of Chairman at the
- Joint Partnership Committee of Rotary International
- Strategic Planning Committee of Rotary International
- Rotary India Literacy Mission
- Rotary Foundation India
- Rotary India Centennial Celebrations
- Rotary India Humanity Foundation
Keenly dedicated to service, Shekhar Mehta has led many major Service Initiatives in India and South Asia. Some significant initiatives are:
- Constructing 500 homes for Tsunami survivors at Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
- Starting the Shelter Kit program in India which has served about 20 disasters ; and distributing more than 15,000 Shelter Kits helping about 75,000 disaster victims.
- He started the Saving Little Hearts , a pediatric Heart Surgery Program , through which he has facilitated more than 2,500 heart surgeries for children from across various nations as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and some African countries.
- Shekhar Mehta is the architect of the T-E-A-C-H Program . He conceptualized the nationwide Program signatured as T-E-A-C-H , a holistic program on Literacy. This literacy initiative in India has already reached out to more than 50,000 Schools and millions of children in India . Rotary India Literacy Mission is working on the T-E-A-C-H Program for collaborative implementation with the Government of India and many State Governments across the nation . The Program has been replicated in Nepal , Pakistan and Africa.
- He pioneered the collaboration with NCERT , under the guidance and support of Ministry of Human Resource Development; Government of India ; ensured that admist the pandemic scenario; to take the E Learning Program to more than 100 million children across India ;through the television channels of the Government of India.
- He has been Instrumental in setting up more than 15 Eye Hospitals across India serving nearly 50,000 eye operations each year.
- He started a scholarship program called UDAAN for marginalized children. Over the last 10 years 1,000 scholarships have been given by his club.
- Responding to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s national call ,he has helped set up 6000 rural toilets benefitting 30,000 people.
- Shekhar Mehta is spearheading India-wide projects in collaboration with the Government of India, in the areas of Water, Sanitation, Literacy, Healthcare, Environment and Disaster Management. The result of these programs he professes will be “Rotary’s Role in Nation Building in India”.
- The Prime Minister of India and various cabinet Ministers have applauded these mega initiatives of Rotary in India.
Shekhar Mehta is a motivational speaker. He has addressed hundreds of events nationally and internationally. His motivation skills are par excellence which has helped raise millions of dollars for The Rotary Foundation.
Shekhar Mehta is a recipient of the highest awards of Rotary International and The Rotary Foundation, and has been awarded the:-
- “Service Above Self Award”
- “The Meritorious Service Award”
- “The Distinguished Service Award”.
Shekhar Mehta, on 9 April 2021, was conferred the prestigious degree of D Litt Honoris Causa by IIS University , Jaipur India; for his exemplary contribution towards Education and Literacy in India ; and his vision and action to work alongside the Government of India to make country totally literate by 2027.
Shekhar Mehta is the Rotary International President to 1.2 million Rotarians in 200 countries across the globe, for the year 2021-2022.During his year as President of Rotary International Shekhar asks Rotarians to Grow More and Do More. His mission for the year is a leap in membership to a never before 1.3 million.He wants Rotarians to focus on Empowering Girls – be it in Education, Health, Skill Development or WASH.
He is married to Rashi Mehta. She is a social worker and is a stage artist having performed in socially relevant plays across India. They have a son Chiraag married to Geeta, a daughter Chandni and a grandson Veer.
His guiding mantra in life is “Service is the rent that we pay for the space we occupy on this earth”.
A world leader with a colossal belief in service above self, Shekhar Mehta’s Presidential Theme as Rotary International President 2021- 22 is “Serve To Change Lives”.