Kasturba Hospital, Manipal Takes FICCI Community Engagement Award for Matri-Amrit Milk Bank

Kasturba Hospital, Manipal won the Excellence in Community Engagement award at the 18th Healthcare Excellence Awards 2026, instituted by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, for its Manipal Matri-Amrit Milk Bank, which supported 660 newborns with over 538 litres of donor milk from 493 mothers. ANI News reported the award on October 31, 2026.

Inside the Matri-Amrit Milk Bank Award

Kasturba Hospital is the teaching hospital of Kasturba Medical College, Manipal and a unit of Manipal Academy of Higher Education. The hospital describes the Manipal Matri-Amrit Milk Bank as a non-profit initiative and the first human breast milk bank of the Udupi-Manipal region.

The bank collects, screens, pasteurises and stores breast milk voluntarily donated by lactating mothers. The milk goes to premature, low-birth-weight and sick newborns in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit whose mothers are unable to breastfeed. During the year under review, the bank supported 660 newborns with over 538 litres of donor milk from 493 voluntary donor mothers, up from 430 newborns and 300 litres the previous year. The hospital said there were zero adverse events attributable to donor milk.

Dr Shashi Tharoor, Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha), presented the award at a ceremony at FICCI, New Delhi on October 27, 2026. Dr Sudhakar Kantipudi, Chief Operating Officer – Teaching Hospitals, MAHE, and Dr Avinash Shetty, Medical Superintendent, Kasturba Hospital, Manipal, received it on the hospital's behalf. All three initiatives nominated by the hospital placed among the top three finalists in their categories from 157 nominations: the milk bank won community engagement, while the Hospital-Wide CLABSI Prevention Programme and the "Everyone is a Hero, Every Second Counts" CPR and emergency response training programme were finalists.

Dr H. S. Ballal, Pro Chancellor, MAHE, said, "This recognition from FICCI is a proud moment for Kasturba Hospital and the entire MAHE family." Dr Sharath K. Rao, Vice Chancellor, MAHE, said the hospital "has always combined clinical excellence with a deep commitment to society."

Kasturba Hospital's Recent Specialty Additions

According to akta.pro company records, Kasturba Hospital is a 2,032-bed tertiary care teaching hospital in Manipal, founded in 1961, with an average of 3,000-plus outpatients and 200 admissions per day. The same records list a July 2026 inauguration of a Division of Pediatric Bone Marrow Transplantation and a May 2026 partnership with Access Life, MAHE and the Chellaram Foundation to establish Karnataka's first Pediatric BMT Support Centre on campus. In January 2026 the hospital launched the Manipal Integrated Liver and Transplant Clinic.

MAHE's Wider Community Programmes

Manipal Academy of Higher Education has also hosted community-facing programmes this year. The Times of India reported that MAHE will hold the Manipal Start-Up Expo 2026 at Dr TMA Pai Halls, KMC, Manipal, showcasing 80-plus startups and ventures. The Hindu reported that the Manipal Hospice and Respite Centre, which provides free care, completed its first year supporting 694 patients and over 1,300 family caregivers, and plans to expand from 40 beds to 100 beds in coming years.