Seven Indian doctors have secured prizes from across 10 categories in the fourth edition of BMJ Awards South Asia 2017 that seeks to reward individuals and teams working tirelessly to improve the quality of healthcare across the region.

The 2017 Awards, which received over 2000 high-quality nominations from eight countries across South Asia including India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Bhutan, Myanmar and Maldives, spanned across a diverse and egalitarian mix of categories ranging from healthcare quality, medical education, technological innovation and research, and clinical excellence."Every year, we wish to further raise the bar with BMJ Awards South Asia. We hope clinicians utilise this platform to showcase to the world how their efforts are transforming healthcare," Prashant Mishra, Managing Director of medical journal BMJ India, said in a statement on Monday. 

While Ritesh Agarwal, from Max Smart Super Specialty Hospital, Delhi won in the category "Infectious Disease Initiative of the Year", Rajendra Prasad, from Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, Delhi, was declared the winner in the category "Non Communicable Disease Initiative of the Year".In the category "Excellence in Medical Education", Sonal Asthana, from Aster CMI Hospital, Bengaluru, won the award, while Lallu Joseph, from Christian Medical College, Vellore, secured first place in the category of "Quality Improvement Team of the Year". Swati Mahendru from Manipal University ranked highest in the category "Post Graduate Thesis of the Year", and Lobsang Tsetim from Ramakrishna Mission Hospital, Itanagar, secured the first spot in the category "Surgical Team of the Year".

In the category "Maternal and Child Health Team of the Year", Aarti Avinash Kinikar, from B.J. Government Medical College and Sassoon General Hospital, Pune, won the award. "The work done by all the winners are of highest standards and innovative in approach, that eventually makes a positive impact on the lives of many a people," added Fiona Godlee, Editor-in-Chief, The BMJ.