Bharat Pandya selected as 2028-29 Rotary International President

India’s Bharat Pandya, a surgeon from Mumbai and past Rotary International director and Foundation trustee, has been chosen to lead Rotary in 2028-29.

Bharat Pandya, a member of the Rotary Club of Borivli, Mumbai, India, is the selection of the nominating committee for Rotary International president for 2028-29. He will officially become the president-nominee on 15 September if there are no other challenging candidates.

After receiving undergraduate and postgraduate degrees from Seth G. S. Medical College and King Edward Memorial Hospital in Mumbai, Bharat practiced as a general and laparoscopic surgeon for 38 years. Among other professional recognitions, he was awarded fellowships by the Association of Surgeons of India and the International College of Surgeons and earned the Borivli Medical Brotherhood’s Outstanding Performance Award. He is a founding member of the Association of Minimal Access Surgeons of India and was a board member and vice chair of Jan Shikshan Sansthan, a government-sponsored vocational training and skill development institute. He received the Mumbai Gaurav (Pride of Mumbai) Award from Sanskriti Yuva Sanstha and the Indian Global Foundation.

Bharat has served as a RI director and treasurer and on numerous committees, among them the Finance Committee and the Strategic Planning Committee. He has served in multiple positions for The Rotary Foundation: trustee, vice chair, Executive Committee chair, and vice chair of the Finance and Stewardship committees. He is currently chair of the RI Programs Committee and vice chair of The Rotary Foundation Programs Committee. He served on the India PolioPlus Committee in 2011-15, during which time India was certified polio-free.

Bharat and his wife, Madhavi, a past district chair of Inner Wheel District 314, are Major Donors and Benefactors. They have two daughters and one granddaughter.