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 Dr. Bharat Pandya, member of the Rotary Club of Borivali in Mumbai, has been confirmed as president-nominee of Rotary International – the association of the membership service organization’s 45,000 clubs worldwide – and will begin his one-year term on July 1, 2028.
As president, Dr. Pandya will inspire Rotary’s 1.2 million members across continents and cultures to deliver real, long-term solutions to the world’s most persistent issues, while developing leadership through meaningful connections.
Among his priorities will be to oversee Rotary’s top goal of ending polio. Alongside its Global Polio Eradication Initiative partners, Rotary has achieved a 99.9 percent reduction in polio cases and contributed more than US$ 3 billion and countless volunteer hours to protect more than 3 billion children from this paralyzing disease.
Dr. Pandya's story with Rotary began as the only doctor in his newly chartered club in 1989, when he was handed responsibility for the local pulse polio immunization drive. He set up ten immunization centres and personally went door-to-door administering the oral polio vaccine to children. Pandya served on the India National PolioPlus Committee (2011-15), the committee overseeing the final push that led to India — once considered the world's hardest place to defeat the disease — being declared polio-free in 2014.
Dr. Pandya's professional career as a surgeon has shaped his approach to leadership. After earning his undergraduate and postgraduate medical degrees from Seth G S Medical College and King Edward Memorial Hospital in Mumbai, he has been practicing as a general and laparoscopic surgeon for 38 years.
“Being a surgeon has profoundly influenced the way I lead,” Dr. Pandya said. “In surgery, decisions are based on analysis, knowledge, evidence, boldness and integrity. I have carried this forward to Rotary. I often talk about three phases in life: learn, earn and return. Rotary gave me the chance to return, even while I was still earning. I’ve gotten far more from this organization than I could ever give back — and now I intend to keep giving. "
Dr. Pandya follows Indian Rotary leaders who have served as Rotary International president, Nitish C. Laharry (1962-63), Rajendra K. Saboo (1991-92), Kalyan Banerjee (2011-12), and Shekhar Mehta (2021-22).
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