NEW DELHI, 22nd September 2026 — 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.

That experience became part of a longstanding commitment to polio eradication. Decades later, 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. To me, the essence of Rotary can be captured in two words: hope and opportunity. Hope that a newborn child will be protected from polio through Rotary’s polio eradication efforts, hope that our communities can be made better — and the opportunity we have as Rotarians to fulfill that hope.”

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).

About Rotary: Rotary brings together a global network of volunteer leaders dedicated to tackling the world’s most pressing humanitarian challenges and creating lasting change. Rotary connects 1.2 million people of action from more than 45,000 Rotary clubs in almost every country in the world. Their service improves lives both locally and internationally, from helping those in need in their own communities to working toward a polio-free world.

Rotary members throughout the world develop and implement sustainable, community-driven projects that fight disease, promote peace, provide clean water, support education, save mothers and children, grow local economies and protect the environment. More than US$5.5 billion has been awarded through The Rotary Foundation – Rotary’s charitable arm that helps clubs work together to perform meaningful, impactful service – to support these initiatives over the last 100 years.