The Pulmonologist Who Served the Highest Office and Countless Patients: The Story of Dr. Pawan Raj Goyal

Born on 19 February 1952 in Ahmedabad and rooted in Haryana, Pawan Raj Goyal chose a path that would take him from the wards of Delhi to the quiet responsibility of caring for the nation’s highest constitutional office. He graduated in medicine from Maulana Azad Medical College in New Delhi in 1974 and completed his residency at Irwin Hospital. Further training and recognition came from Harvard Medical School in Boston, where his work in respiratory medicine earned distinction.

Specialising in pulmonary medicine, chest diseases, asthma, allergy and immunology, Dr. Goyal built a career treating conditions that range from tuberculosis and COPD to lung cancer, sleep disorders and complex respiratory failures. He served as Professor and Head of the Department of Chest and Pulmonary Medicine at SRM Medical College Hospital and Research Centre in Chennai, where he continues as Professor Emeritus. Alongside clinical practice he founded and leads PRG Medicares and Researches, combining medical care with ongoing inquiry into better treatments.

Between 2012 and 2017 he held the rare honour of serving as Honorary Physician to the President of India. The role demanded not only medical expertise but absolute discretion, calm judgement and readiness at any hour. Through it all he remained a practising pulmonologist, known for careful diagnosis and patient-centred care.

In 2014 the Government of India conferred upon him the Padma Shri for his contributions to medicine. Other recognitions include awards for professional and social service, fellowships from international societies, and a Doctorate Honoris Causa in Medicine.

One evening, after a clinic that had included both ordinary patients and the quiet responsibilities of high office, a young doctor asked him, “Sir, what is the greatest difference between treating a private patient and serving as physician to the President?”

Dr. Pawan Raj Goyal answered with the measured calm of a man who had listened to many lungs and many confidences.

“The lungs do not know rank,” he said. “Whether the person sits in the highest office or waits in an ordinary clinic, the breath is the same, the fear is the same, and the need for careful, honest care is the same. The privilege of the position is simply the chance to serve with equal dedication. That is the only standard that matters.”

And so the pulmonologist from Haryana who trained in Delhi and at Harvard, who led chest medicine departments, who advised the President of India, and who continues to treat patients with the same steady attention, remains a quiet example of medicine practised with skill, discretion and unwavering respect for every breath that needs help.