Bengaluru, 05-07-2026 - Ask most people to picture a hospital CEO, and a nurse is rarely who comes to mind. That's the exact assumption Dr. Devi Shetty, Founder and Chairman of Narayana Health, wants to overturn. Announcing a new initiative, he laid out a simple but pointed question: why aren't Indian nurses becoming hospital CEOs? Narayana Health's answer is to build a hospital where they already are.

Narayana Health is preparing to commission a new paperless smart hospital in Banashankari, Bengaluru. What will be different from any other hospital in the group's network is that the entire operational management and governance will be run exclusively by nurses.

The initiative aims to fill a long-standing leadership gap in Indian healthcare, in which nurses who form the backbone of healthcare rarely move into hospital administration or CEO level positions. With this facility, Narayana Health aims to build a direct pathway from bedside care to the boardroom.

A New Leadership Track for Nurses

Narayana Health is looking for 25 nurses to be part of this first cohort. There's room for a wide range of experience, from young professionals with just one or two years of experience post BSc or GNM, to seasoned nursing veterans who've spent years at the bedside and are ready to step into a boardroom.

The selected participants will take on operational and governance responsibilities for the hospital, gaining hands-on experience in areas normally restricted to hospital administrators and executives.

What the Program Offers

The initiative combines clinical continuity with structured leadership development:

Dual compensation: Participants will continue to draw their clinical salary, in addition to a substantial monthly management incentive tied to their administrative role.
Fully sponsored education: Narayana Health will fund an executive hospital administration program at IIM Bangalore for every participant, giving them a formal management credential alongside on-the-job leadership experience.

Why It Matters

The program reflects a broader push within Narayana Health to rethink who leads hospitals in India. By pairing real operational authority with institutional-grade management education, the initiative gives nurses a structured route into executive healthcare leadership - a route that has historically been difficult to access from clinical roles.

This isn't limited to nurses already working within Narayana Health. Open to every nurse in India - whether you work at Narayana Health or any other hospital nationwide, this opportunity is for you.

Further details about the Banashankari facility, including its commissioning timeline, are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.

How to Apply
Nurses interested in joining the program can apply by sending their resume to pani.nagaraja@narayanahealth.org.

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Narayana Health to Launch India's First Nurse-Led Smart Hospital in Bengaluru