Puducherry-based nephrologist and Founder-Chairman of East Coast Hospitals, DrNMurugesan, has introduced “Blue Nephrology”, a prevention-focused approach that seeks to identify and address metabolic and lifestyle risks affecting kidney health before they develop into serious disease.
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DrNMurugesan
The concept forms part of the Blue India Movement, inspired by the world’s Blue Zones and their experience of healthier ageingIt proposes looking beyond the treatment of kidney disease to earlier risk factors such as insulin resistance, diabetes, hypertension and excessive sodium intake.
The DrBlue India Foundation, established by DrMurugesan in Puducherry in 2025, is translating the approach into community-level action through a Rs 30-crore philanthropic initiative to provide one lakh free insulin testsThe programme aims to identify metabolic risks among people who may not yet have obvious symptoms.
With more than five decades of medical service and over four decades in nephrology, DrMurugesan has spent much of his career treating kidney diseaseHis current focus is on moving kidney care further upstream—from treating disease after it develops to identifying risks earlier.
“We have traditionally asked how to treat kidney diseaseThe more important question is whether we can protect kidney health before disease develops,” said DrMurugesan.
For more than two decades, DrMurugesan has also worked on the health effects associated with excessive sodium intake and approaches to reducing sodium exposureHe sees kidney health as an important window into wider metabolic and cardiovascular health.
The larger objective is to shift the focus from treating disease after it appears to identifying and addressing health risks much earlier.
DrNMurugesan
DrNMurugesan is a nephrologist from Puducherry who has spent nearly four decades working in nephrology, kidney transplantation and tertiary healthcareHis career has combined clinical practice with institution building and, more recently, public-health initiatives aimed at early detection and prevention of chronic diseases resulting in overall healthy longevity.
DrMurugesan completed his MBBS in 1977, followed by his MD in 1981, and subsequently became the first in Soth India to get a DNB in Nephrology in 1987He trained in nephrology under Padma Vibhushan DrMKMani in Chennai.
