· Chennai
Prathap C. Reddy founded Apollo Hospitals in Madras, India's first corporate healthcare provider.
Apollo Hospitals was founded by the cardiologist Prathap C. Reddy on 18 September 1983 in Madras. It is described as the first corporate healthcare provider in India. The group grew into one of India's largest private hospital networks, headquartered in Chennai, and helped make the city a centre for medical treatment, including for patients from abroad.
Television arrives in Madras with Doordarshan Kendra
Doordarshan began television broadcasts from Madras, the first TV station in South India.
Sankara Nethralaya eye hospital founded in Madras
Led by S. S. Badrinath, a group in Madras founded Sankara Nethralaya, a charitable eye hospital run on a not-for-profit basis.
MGR falls ill and is treated in the United States
Kidney failure put Chief Minister M. G. Ramachandran in hospital, and he later had a kidney transplant in New York.
First HIV cases in India detected in Madras
India's first documented HIV infections were found among sex workers in Madras by microbiologist Suniti Solomon and her student Sellappan Nirmala.
Dr Muthulakshmi Reddy Maternity Benefit Scheme
Tamil Nadu began cash assistance for poor pregnant women, a pioneering state maternity benefit scheme named after Muthulakshmi Reddy.
Viswanathan Anand becomes India's first grandmaster
Chess player Viswanathan Anand of Madras became India's first grandmaster.
