Mr Keshav Desiraju

The ORNATE-India project team in the UK and India and the project’s International Advisory Board are deeply saddened to learn of the sudden passing of Mr Keshav Desiraju on 5 September 2021.

Mr Desiraju had an exemplary career in the Indian civil service, having held senior positions in the state governments of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and the central government including Union Health Secretary. He was a leading policymaker in the domain of public health taking on the issue of mental health and other important causes.

Mr Desiraju joined the International Advisory Board for the ORNATE-India project in December 2017 and was a man of great integrity and compassion and a wonderful supporter of the project to tackle the burden of blindness due to diabetic retinopathy in India. We have been very fortunate to have been associated with Mr Desiraju and we offer our heartfelt condolences to his family.