Dr Nomal Chandra Borah is an Indian

Social Entrepreneur Social entrepreneurship is an approach by individuals, groups, start-up companies or entrepreneurs, in which they develop, fund and implement solutions to social, cultural, or environmental issues. This concept may be applied to a wide range of ...

and

neurologist Neurology (from el, νεῦρον (neûron), "string, nerve" and the suffix -logia, "study of") is the branch of medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of conditions and disease involving the brain, the spinal c ...

who founded GNRC Affordable Health Mission in India. He founded the GNRC Hospitals, the first Tertiary care Super-Specialty Hospital in

North-east India , native_name_lang = mni , settlement_type = , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , motto = , image_map = Northeast india.png , ...

. The hospital was initially set up in

Maligaon The headquarters of Northeast Frontier Railway and Northeast Frontier Railway Stadium is situated here. The place is also known for goddess Durga pandals. There are several temples and places of worship in and around Maligaon. Hanuman Mandir, K ...

Guwahati Guwahati (, ; formerly rendered Gauhati, ) is the biggest city of the Indian state of Assam and also the largest metropolis in northeastern India. Dispur, the capital of Assam, is in the circuit city region located within Guwahati and is the ...

with the name Guwahati Neurological Research Centre (GNRC) in the year 1984 with the active participation and supervision of Late Dr K V Mathai, the legendary Neurosurgeon from

Vellore Vellore (English: ), also spelt as Velur (), is a city and the administrative headquarters of Vellore district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Palar River in the northeastern part of Tamil Nadu and is separ ...

. Later, GNRC was converted into a limited company in the year 1985 and since then it has been involved in many pioneering healthcare delivery initiatives in North-east India. GNRC Ltd was officially formed in the year 1987. Dr Borah is the owner of the retail chain GNRC Medishop which provides hygienic FMCG products, grocery and personal care items and medicines. He also serves as a Managing Trustee of Asian Institute of Nursing Education.

Early life

Dr Nomal Chandra Borah was born in a peasant family on 15 August 1950. His birthplace was Dubia village in

Gohpur Gohpur (IPA: ˌgəʊəˈpʊə) is a town and headquarter of Gohpur sub-division in Biswanath district in the Indian state of Assam. It is a historical place of Assam, where the famous freedom fighter Kanaklata Barua was born. The current MLA fr ...

area of then undivided

Sonitpur district Sonitpur district ron: ˌsə(ʊ)nɪtˈpʊə or ˌʃə(ʊ)nɪtˈpʊəis an administrative district in the state of Assam in India. The district headquarters is located at Tezpur. Etymology The name of the is derived from a mythological story f ...

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

Medical education and career

Dr Borah completed MBBS in the year 1975. In the year 1992, Dr Borah attended the Graduate Summer Course in

Epidemiology Epidemiology is the study and analysis of the distribution (who, when, and where), patterns and determinants of health and disease conditions in a defined population. It is a cornerstone of public health, and shapes policy decisions and evide ...

and Biostatistics from the University of Michigan, USA. He received Fellow of the

American Academy of Neurology The American Academy of Neurology (AAN) is a professional society representing over 38,000 neurologists and neuroscientists. As a medical specialty society it was established in 1948 by A.B. Baker of the University of Minnesota to advance the ...

(FAAN).

GNRC and the Entrepreneurial Journey

In the year 1984, Dr Borah set up North-east India’s first Tertiary care super-specialty hospital in Guwahati, Assam, and coined it as Guwahati Neurological Research Centre. In the year 1985, it was converted to a limited company with the name GNRC Ltd. GNRC was the first Tertiary care super-specialty hospital of Assam and North-east India. In the year 2004, Dr Borah founded Asian Institute of Nursing Education to create and nurture quality nursing professionals in the region. Currently, the institute offers degrees in B.Sc Nursing, Post Basic Nursing and M.Sc Nursing. Then in the year 2006, Dr Borah started GNRC Medishop. These are retail stores combining FMCG, grocery, personal care and medicines. The second facility under the aegis of GNRC Ltd was set up in the year 2008 at Sixmile, Guwahati.

GNRC Affordable Health Mission and GNRC Medical

Dr Borah initiated and launched a mobile medical unit named as GNRC Medireach in April 2012. Dr Borah personally visited more than 7,000 villages to understand the health issues faced by rural Assamese people and their inability to access and afford quality healthcare. This massive exercise led to the setting up of GNRC Medical at

North Guwahati North Guwahati is northern part of the city of Guwahati and a town area committee in Kamrup Rural district in the Indian state of Assam.This town abounds in historical places and picnic spots. National Highway 27 passes through North Guwahati ...

near Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati (IITG) in the year 2014. It is an affordable healthcare institution catering to all cross-sections of the society, especially the financially weaker sections. This initiative was later recognized by

World Bank Group The World Bank Group (WBG) is a family of five international organizations that make leveraged loans to developing countries. It is the largest and best-known development bank in the world and an observer at the United Nations Development Gr ...

(WBG) through its India Development Marketplace (IDM) initiative, to receive a grant of US $150,000. In August 2017, Dr Borah founded GNRC Affordable Health Mission to ensure access to affordable and quality healthcare for everyone in the society irrespective of their financial status. This Mission has already touched majority households of the state of Assam through a network of 12,000 GNRC Swasthya Mitras. GNRC Swasthya Mitras are essentially community health workers for the Mission.

As a Writer

* Publishing "GNRC Swasthya" a Health Magazine since 2007 with a monthly circulation of 65,000 copies. * "Chikitsokor Tokabohi:, a book in Assamese language published by Prapti Prakash in 2006. * "Sarukonor Stroke Aru Sikisthya Bishoyok Ananya Rosona", a book in Assamese language. Published by Student’s Corner, June 2012 * "Doctor Aru Rogir Jugalbandi," a book in Assamese language, published by Students Corner, 28 November 2014. * "Swasthya Sikitshya Bigyan Aru Somaj Bybostha", a book in Assamese language, published by GNRC Swasthya, November, 2017.

Awards and achievements

# Recognition from Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) by including the Profile of Dr. N. C. Borah as a case study in the Chapter on "Rural Entrepreneurship—Strategies And Experiences " for M.Sc Course in Social Sciences, 2007. # Conferred the "Birangana Sati Sadhani Award "by the Chief Minister of Assam, Sri Tarun Gogoi on 2 December 2015 for contributions towards the society. # Conferred the "ERDF Excellence Award, 2015" for the entrepreneurial initiative to provide quality healthcare and contributions towards the development of Neurosciences in North Eastern India.

References

External links

* http://gnrchospitals.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Borah, Nomal Chandra Indian neurologists Indian medical administrators Living people University of Michigan School of Public Health alumni Scientists from Guwahati 20th-century Indian medical doctors 1950 births Fellows of the American Academy of Neurology