Record 315 Health Clinics Established in India
We hope this inspires more people to participate in expanding such selfless services to the unprivileged in the coming months and years in achieving the goal to reach 10,000 telemedicine operations by 2024.
Thanks to Dr. Raj Shah for his leadership and persistence. Kudos to all the members of the Health Council for the phenomenal work. Know more about WHEELS Telemedicine Project "HEART".

Invitation to Public Health Policy & Digital HealthCare Systems for Dealing with Pandemics - LIVE Webinar
Mr. Arjun Malhotra, Executive Chairman - Evolko(USA), Co-Founder - HCL & PHFI
Prof. (Dr.) Shiv Kumar Sarin, MD, DM, D.Sc. (Hony.), FNA, FNAS Senior Professor, Hepatology, & Vice-Chancellor, Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences(ILBS)
Dr. K. Srinath Reddy, President - Public Health Foundation of India(PHFI)
&
Dr. Krishna Vatsa, Member, National Disaster Management Authority
Ambassador Pradeep Kapur, Executive Director, Smart Village Development Initiative, WHEELS Global Foundation
Webinar Moderator
Mr. Rajat Gupta, Chairman - WHEELS Global Foundation, Former Chairman - McKinsey Global
The main objective for our webinar is to offer a forum for discussions on the increased priority of Public Health in Govt policies and improved preparedness to handle another pandemic crisis by complementing a series of three prior Webinars as follows:
#1 Field Experiences of NGOs showcasing their services to address COVID-Pandemic.
#2 Digital Healthcare and its promises for Rural Public Health: A joint Webinar with Johns Hopkins University and JHU Institute in India.
#3 Infrastructures and R&D with IITs needed to make India Self-reliant in Medical devices and Public Health.
WHEELS Global Foundation, the organizer of these Webinars, itself has been actively involved with Public health in India's rural communities, by managing 300 Telemedicine centers and has direct experience in the COVID Pandemic - a failure of Public health preparedness across the globe. We hope to create thought leadership through our cumulative 6000 global participants in our 19 Webinars on what public policies in Public health worked, what did not, and what needs to be developed to avoid the social and economic calamities of such pandemics in the future. WHEELS has been recognized as an NGO for technology transfer by NiTi Aayog of the Govt of India and the Department of Panchayat Raj has signed an MOU with WHEELS and its partners for Integrated Development of Smart Village Clusters. Please note our esteemed panelists and register for this interesting and informative webinar.
Day/Date: Saturday, September 25th' 2021
Time: 07:30 PM - 09 PM IST | 10 AM - 11:30 AM US EDT
Upon registration, you may send your questions in advance to [email protected]. The webinar will also be broadcast on WHEELS Facebook Page and other social media platforms. Attendees will also be able to post their questions during the webinar. You can join the webinar 15 min early (i.e. 09:45 AM ET OR 07:15 PM IST) to watch the slide show on WGF activities and related project videos. Past webinars have stressed the importance of collaboration among NGOs to scale operations and increase the impact. For more information visit: www.wheelsglobal.org
Mr. Rajat Gupta is Chairman of WHEELS Global Foundation (WGF) and serves on its board as a key strategist in defining the direction and focus of the non-profit organization. Mr. Gupta brings his considerable skills to WGF, along with his leadership associations and advisory roles to many other non-profits such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria.
Mr. Rajat Gupta is a leading Indian-American businessman and Philanthropist who has co-founded successful world-class institutions including the Indian School of Business(ISB), American India Foundation(AIF), New Silk Route, and Scandent Solutions. He was ranked 15th in the nation in the entrance exam for the Indian Institutes of Technology, IIT JEE. He received a Bachelor of Technology degree from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi (IIT-Delhi) in 1971 and an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1973.
Mr. Gupta joined McKinsey & Company in 1973 as one of the earliest Indian-Americans at the eminent consulting company. In 1994, he was elected the firm’s first managing director (chief executive) born outside of the US and then was re-elected twice in 1997 and 2000. Mr. Gupta is widely regarded as one of the first Indians to successfully break through the glass ceiling, as the first Indian-born CEO of a multinational corporation (not just a consultancy). During Mr. Gupta’s tenure as head of McKinsey, the firm opened offices in 23 new countries and doubled its consultant base to 891 partners, increasing revenue 280 percent to $3.4 billion.
Mr. Arjun Malhotra is a pioneer of the Indian IT industry, Mr. Malhotra served as Chairman of Headstrong’s Board of Directors before its acquisition by Genpact in May 2011. Prior to Headstrong, he was Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of TechSpan, which merged with Headstrong in October 2003. Mr. Malhotra has had a long string of entrepreneurial successes. He co-founded the HCL group in 1975, taking it from a six-person “garage operation” to one of India’s largest InformationTechnology corporations. The first leading Indian entrepreneur to relocate to the USA, Mr. Malhotra took over HCL’s US operations (now known as HCL Technologies) in 1989 and grew it to nearly $100 million annual revenues.
In 1992 he ran the HCL-HP joint venture in India, and in 1996 he set up and ran the joint venture with Deluxe Corporation. Mr. Malhotra is on the Board of Governors of ISB, Hyderabad, and IIT (Kharagpur) Foundation. He is a past Co-Chair of the Global Pan-IIT Alumni Association. He is also a Member of IPSS and was on the Board of Governors of The Doon School. A Life Fellow of IIT Kharagpur, he has been awarded Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa) in September 2012. Punjab Technical University conferred an Honorary Ph.D. on him in 2013.
Prof. (Dr.) S.K. Sarin is the Senior Professor, Hepatology, and Vice-Chancellor, Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences (ILBS), New Delhi. He was instrumental in setting up the Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences, under the auspices of the Govt of Delhi. He is also the Director, WHO Collaborative Centre on Chronic Liver diseases and Viral Hepatitis at ILBS. He serves as Adjunct Faculty, Molecular Medicine at JNU due to his deep interest and contributions to translational science. He is credited with several new treatment protocols for liver diseases, especially variceal bleeding, liver regeneration, hepatitis B, and acute-on-chronic liver failure. He has more than 680 publications to his credit, edited 13 books on liver diseases, and contributed 90 chapters to various medical textbooks. He has helped develop 20 major guidelines; including six major Asian Pacific Treatment Guidelines in Liver diseases. Prof. Sarin has shown leadership roles in being the President of the Indian Society of Gastroenterology, Indian Association for the Study of the Liver, Asian Pacific Association of Liver (APASL), and Chairman Steering Committee of the APASL.
He has been awarded the prestigious Henry L. Bockus Medal -2017 by World Gastroenterology Organization, as also Ralph Kohn Memorial Lecture at the Institute of Hepatology, London, Prof. Telfer Reynolds Memorial Oration at the University of Southern California. He has been bestowed with Padma Bhushan by the Govt of India. He is also a recipient of the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award, The World Academy of Medical Sciences (TWAS) International Prize, EASL International Recognition Award, Om Prakash Bhasin Award, Dhanvantri Medical Award, Ranbaxy Medical Sciences Award, and the ‘Best Teacher Award, besides being a founding Editor of Hepatology International. He developed with other Board of Governors the ‘Vision 2015’ document for Medical Education in India during his tenure as Chairman of Medical Council of India.
Prof. K. Srinath Reddy is the President of, Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) and formerly headed the Department of Cardiology at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). Under his leadership, PHFI has established five Indian Institutes of Public Health (IIPHs) in different regions of India, to advance multi-disciplinary public health education, research, health technologies, and implementation support for strengthening health systems. He was appointed as the First Bernard Lown Visiting Professor of Cardiovascular Health at the Harvard School of Public Health in (2009-13) and presently serves as an Adjunct Professor of Epidemiology at Harvard (2014-2023). He holds advisory positions in several national and international bodies and recently published a book Make Health in India: Reaching A Billion Plus. He is also an Adjunct Professor of the Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, and an Honorary Professor of Medicine at the University of Sydney. He is the first Indian to be elected to the National Academy of Medicine, USA, and was awarded several prestigious international and national doctorates and fellowships. He was President of the World Heart Federation (2013-15). He is a Padma Bhushan awardee. He is also an Advisor to the Governments of Odisha, Punjab, Haryana, and Andhra Pradesh on Public Health. He served as a physician to two Prime Ministers of India.
Prof. Reddy obtained his medical degree from Osmania Medical College (Hyderabad), M.D. (Medicine), and D.M. (Cardiology) degrees from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (Delhi) and M.Sc. (Epidemiology) from McMaster University (Hamilton, Canada). Having trained in cardiology and epidemiology, Prof. Reddy has been involved in several major international and national research studies including the INTERSALT global study of blood pressure and electrolytes, INTERHEART global study on risk factors of myocardial infarction, national collaborative studies on the epidemiology of coronary heart disease and community control of rheumatic heart disease. Widely regarded as a leader of preventive cardiology at national and international levels, Prof. Reddy has been a researcher, teacher, policy enabler, advocate, and activist who has worked to promote cardiovascular health, tobacco control, appropriate nutrition across the life course, chronic disease prevention and healthy living across the lifespan. He edited the National Medical Journal of India for 10 years and is on the editorial board of several international and national journals. He has more than 500 scientific publications in international and Indian peer reviewed-journals.
Dr. Krishna S. Vatsa has worked in the area of disaster risk reduction and recovery for the last 25 years. Prior to joining as Member, NDMA, Krishna S. Vatsa worked as Policy Advisor, Disaster Recovery, Bureau for Policy and Programme Support (BPPS), UNDP in New York and Nairobi during 2015-20. He served as the Regional Disaster Reduction Advisor, South & South- West Asia in New Delhi from 2008 to 2014. He joined UNDP in 2007 as an Early Recovery Coordinator in the Philippines.
As a career civil servant, Krishna S. Vatsa joined the Maharashtra Emergency Earthquake Rehabilitation Programme in the state of Maharashtra in 1995 and implemented a large-scale earthquake recovery program during the next four years. He has also served as Secretary to the Government of Maharashtra, Relief, and Rehabilitation from 2003 to 2006, and then as Secretary, Rural Development & Panchayati Raj from 2006 to 2007. In course of his career, he extensively consulted for several national and international organizations in the area of disaster risk reduction and recovery. Krishna S. Vatsa has a Doctor of Science in Disaster Risk Management from George Washington University, Washington, DC, and published extensively on the subject.
Ambassador Pradeep Kapur is an acknowledged “luminary diplomat,” with a distinguished career working with leaders and policymakers around the world. Author and editor of many books, he was Ambassador of India to Chile and to Cambodia and Secretary at the Indian Ministry of External Affairs. He is Executive Director of Smart Village Development Fund (SVDF). He received a Bachelor of Technology in Electrical Engineering in 1977 from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. In 1979, he received a Master of Technology in Management and Systems from IIT, Delhi. As a career Indian Foreign Service officer from 1979 to 2013, he held many government posts both in India and abroad. From April 2001 to January 2005 he was the Indian ambassador to Cambodia. From October 2007 through January 2009, he was joint secretary of the Foreign Service Institute in New Delhi. From January 2009 to December 2013 he was the Indian ambassador to Chile.
WHEELS Global Foundation(WGF), "An Initiative of IIT Alumni, USA" with the mission of Technology-Enabled Philanthropy. WHEELS has also been selected by NITI Aayog, Govt. of India as a member of the Committee for Innovation and Technology Transfer. WHEELS has also signed an MOU with the Ministry for Panchayati Raj for a technology partnership in Rural Development.
COVID-19 Relief Efforts For India
* WHEELS Global Foundation is a 501C(3) approved entity started by alumni of the Indian Institutes of Technology and your donations are Tax Deductible in the USA. Our mission is to help scale philanthropy through the use of appropriate technologies. Our tag line is "Technology-Enabled Philanthropy". Our board members and a few others contribute to pay administrative costs to make sure all of your donations go directly to the concerned causes.
As you know, India is going through a major health crisis due to COVID-19 raging in several parts of the country. India has recorded the highest one-day tally of new COVID-19 cases and deaths anywhere in the world, with the National Capital Region of Delhi is the most drastically affected. There is an acute shortage of Oxygen in Delhi, with several hospitals running out of Oxygen. Hospitals are turning away patients and ambulances are waiting in lines for hours in front of hospitals. This dire situation is now spreading throughout rural India where more than 60% of the population resides!! In this dire need of healthcare essentials for the masses, PanIIT-USA and their chapters are joining hands with WHEELS Global Foundation to come up with a multi-pronged approach to help our fellow citizens in India. We are now emphasizing the old adage that "an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure"! We are putting more effort into Telemedicine, raising awareness, distributing 'prophylactic kits' that include masks, gloves, oximeters. sanitizers, more testing, etc. If we can detect and treat a Covid victim in the first 6 to 10 days of the first appearance of Covid, we can drastically reduce the chances for that person to require oxygen treatment. Such early treatment can be something as simple as administering over-the-counter drugs like Tylenol/Paracetamol, Zinc, and Vitamin D. Here are the four options we are pursuing and the related cost for each. Your generous contributions will be applied for one of these options:
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Sourcing and Supplying Oxygen Concentrators:
We initiated a drive to purchase 5L and 10L Oxygen concentrators for immediate use for those in dire need of such treatment. On May 12th, we shipped 434 units of 5L Oxygen Concentrators from DeVilbiss Co., a leading US manufacturer of medical equipment, to IIT Delhi who is serving not only those on campus but also the surrounding communities that are gravely affected by this pandemic. We see this as "short-term" and serves as urgent care requirements. With the massive worldwide demand for such concentrators to meet India's enormous demand, it is becoming increasingly difficult to source these products from reliable manufacturers or distributors. We also worked to ensure that the products comply with FDA standards and the devices will work satisfactorily in India's fluctuating power requirements for 220-240V/50-60Hz. The transportation and logistics for the "last mile" delivery of these machines to the intended parties in India are becoming difficult due to pilferage and other logistical challenges. Volunteer members of the WHEELS team have helped to facilitate the airlift of about 3000 Oxygen Concentrators from various organizations and continue to help others with transportation logistics. Typical 5L Oxygen Concentrators are costing between $500 to $750 landed in India.
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Cash Support for Local Sourcing in India:
In view of some of the challenges cited above, we have chosen in some cases to make cash payments to our partners, such as AdharShila, in Delhi, India - an NGO started by alumni of IIT Delhi so that they can purchase and service these Oxygen Concentrators locally along with the disposable supplies needed for the apparatus. We are also working with several other charitable organizations that have approached us for similar cash donations for purchasing equipment in India. These organizations have been vetted by us to be run by reliable and known IIT alumni and who are also in compliance with prevailing rules and regulations. Some of these organizations, such as AdharShila are also assembling and distributing 'prophylactic kits' which include masks, gloves, sanitizers, OTC drugs like Paracetomal, oximeters, and thermometers. They also help to raise awareness and prevent spread among the many impoverished people in outlying areas. Please see the pictures we have posted on our Facebook page. We will be updating those as we hear from our beneficiaries. These kits cost about $30-50 ea.
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Large Oxygen Generators for Hospital Use:
We are working with a couple of Rotary Clubs in Delhi and Chennai who will implement 100LPM Oxygen Generators to serve small-medium public health hospitals with 50-75 beds. These machines that are expected to be installed in the next few days, have Power Failure Alarms, Low-Pressure Alarms and rated to supply Oxygen at 93+/-3% purity. These machines are purpose-built and assembled on skids for rapid installations. These Oxygen generators are made in India with Korean technology and will also be serviced locally. We are recommending these as our top option for oxygen treatment as the impact is larger than individual units administered by one volunteer at a time. Also, these units would have a longer life in service and not be prone to pilferage, etc. Each Oxygen Generators cost in the $30,000 to $40,000 range depending on capacity.
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Telemedicine:
We are partnering with EVOLKO, a Telemedicine platform that we have deployed at 20 locations in Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, UP, and Gujarat. We have pledged 400 such telemedicine systems for use in Uttar Pradesh and many more in Gujarat. A local donor in India has pledged $100,000 for supporting this endeavor. Many Doctors in the United States and in India have signed on to offer their services for free to Covid victims in India. Each Telemedicine operation costs $1000 for hardware, software and training on AI driven tools for speedy initial diagnosis & future diagnosis of diabetes etc in rural India. AI Tool will handle 20 of India's main languages. We believe each operation can serve 50-70 patients a day and early intervention and treatment is the best way to prevent patients from getting to a stage where they require Oxygen. Telemedicine has become our primary platform for "Technology-enabled Philanthropy" that we can implement at scale and fairly rapidly.
Apart from the relief efforts made by WHEELS Global Foundation during this tough COVID-19 Pandemic, WHEELS has strived hard in implementing multiple projects. Some of them are as follows:
- Implementation of Intensive Care Units at Local Hospitals
Recently, we have received requests to urgently provision 'Intensive Care Units' at local hospitals. Such facilities are expected to cost upwards of $20,000 per bed! Also, ICU requires highly trained and skilled nursing care which is in severely short supply and hard to place in remote rural areas. Our solution is implementing Covid Isolation Centers (CIC). These 25-75 bed facilities can be set up in existing facilities like hotels, hostels, schools, colleges, and other government facilities with the basic requirements for early isolation and treatment of Covid patients. Each such CIC costs approximately $15,000 to $30,000 including, a few oxygen concentrators, and Telemedicine with training and equipment. WHEELS is now working in collaboration with EKAL to implement the first 10 such units in Gujarat, UP, and Bihar. EKAL has a presence in 130,000 villages - hence, the demand for such facilities is enormous but the cost per patient is also low with very high impact.
- Better utilization of Water Resources to overcome the shortage of Water
In addition to the above activities that are directly related to Covid, the WHEELS Water Council continues to make progress with the Government of Himachal Pradesh for a pilot program for better management of their water resources in anticipation of a severe water shortage this summer. Such a shortage of water would be devastating on top of the raging pandemic. We have set aside $30,000 for this endeavor.
In 2019, WHEELS had initiated a holistic project for rural development in a cluster of 7 villages in the Aravalli district of Gujarat. We have continued this activity with added emphasis on Telemedicine working in collaboration with the SEVAK organization as COVID has spread in that remote region. This program has both short-term funding requirements ($50,000) as well as longer-term projections in excess of $2 million. We are appealing for both individual donations and participation from Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs.
Please donate generously and encourage your friends and family to do the same. Our many well-wishers, donors, and patrons have come forward most generously wanting to donate and to know how WHEELS Global Foundation can assist. Here are ways in which you can help and work with us:
If you wish to make a donation, you may do so at this page or you may also send your check to:
WHEELS Global Foundation
11654 Plaza America Drive, #615
Reston, VA 20190
We assure you that all donations and CSR contributions are applied responsibly for maximum and immediate impact and in compliance with all governing rules and regulations for not-for-profit organizations in the United States and in India. We strive to make sure that our activities are rooted in the application of technology for maximum scale and efficacy. We see every donor as a 'stakeholder' and is entitled to know how their money is being applied for the purpose that their donation was made. Please do not hesitate to email us at ([email protected] or [email protected]) or any of our colleagues on the WHEELS team if you have any questions or wish to get additional details on any of the above activities. Please also let us know if you wish to volunteer or help in other ways."
Thank you
WHEELS Global Foundation
Invitation to Webinar on Beyond The COVID-19 Pandemic: The New Paradigm
WHEELS Global Foundation invites you to join a free webinar on
“BEYOND COVID-19 PANDEMIC: THE NEW PARADIGM”
with the Authors of the BOOK
BEYOND THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC
AUTHORS :
Ambassador Pradeep Kapur, Executive Director, WHEELS Smart Village Development Initiative, IIT-Delhi
&
Dr. Joseph M. Chalil, MD, MBA, FACHE, Global Healthcare Executive
Around the world, providing quality and affordable healthcare remains a challenge. As the COVID-19 pandemic began, it quickly became apparent that public policy and current healthcare systems were ill-prepared to deal with the challenges. Ambassador Pradeep Kapur and Dr. Joseph Chalil discuss the lessons learned in the book, Beyond the COVID-19 Pandemic: Envisioning a Better World by Transforming the Future of Healthcare.
The evolving global scenario, as envisioned by the authors, addresses healthcare needs, education, and sustainable lifestyle choices, reducing the need for more intensive and costly interventions to improve the overall quality of life. Beyond the COVID-19 Pandemic: Envisioning a Better World by Transforming the Future of Healthcare does not stop with a plan for the United States healthcare system, but also organizations, such as the United Nations and the WHO, which are not living up to their initial promise. The authors suggest a roadmap that goes beyond just reform. With these lessons and their Grand Plan, Ambassador Kapur and Dr. Chalil challenge the world to have the political consensus to create meaningful change for all, both in the United States, the United Nations, and around the globe. You can see some further details of the book by clicking:- https://beyondcovidbook.com
Please join us on Saturday, April 10, 2021 at 11:00 am - 12:30 pm (EDT), 10:00 am -11:30 am (CDT), 8:00 am - 9:30 am (PDT), 8:30pm -10:00pm (IST) to participate in a lively discussion.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Ambassador Pradeep Kapur is an acknowledged “luminary diplomat,” with a distinguished career working with leaders and policymakers around the world. Author and editor of many books, he was Ambassador of India to Chile and to Cambodia, and Secretary at the Indian Ministry of External Affairs. He graduated from the globally acclaimed Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi (IIT-D). He is Executive Director of Smart Village Development Fund (SVDF).
Dr. Joseph Chalil, MD, MBA, FACHE, is the author of several scientific and research papers, and serves as the Chairman of Indo-American Press Club (IAPC), the largest ethnic Indian American media forum. He is also the Chairman of the Complex Health Systems Advisory Board, H. Wayne Huizenga College of Business and Entrepreneurship at Nova South-eastern University in Florida. Dr. Chalil is an expert in U.S. healthcare policy and a strong advocate for patient-centred care.
WHEELS Global Foundation(WGF), "An Initiative of IIT Alumni, USA" with the mission of Technology Enabled Philanthropy.
WHEELS has also been selected by NITI Aayog, Govt. of India as a member of committee for Innovation and Technology Transfer.
People who donate $60 or more to WHEELS, will get a hard bound copy of the book. Those who donate $75 or more, will get an author's autographed hard bound copy of the book. If you donate $500 or more, you will also get a chance to interact with authors at a mutually agreed convenient time.