It is an honour and privilege to assume the Presidency of the Indian Academy of Echocardiography and also to thank all my Past Presidents and the leadership of this amazing organisation. This journey could not have been possible without the support of all my friends and well-wishers, a BIG THANK YOU to ALL!

As I take over the Society's leadership, I find it to be a strong, dynamic, and growing organization. It has the strength of large number of members. The pillars of this organisation are its commitment to education, early research, and service to IAE members and the public. In the year ahead, expect growth and activity in each of these areas.

Meeting members' educational needs is one of the highest priorities of this organisation. The educational “jewel in the crown” continues to be the IAE annual meeting and the great scientific program supported by an amazing national and international faculty. As this goes to press, we are expecting record-breaking attendance in ECHO INDIA 2025 in Kochi, thanks to the efforts of Dr R Manjuran and Dr James Thomas. 2026 will see the much awaited ECHO INDIA 2026 along with the World Congress of Echocardiography in New Delhi, India. Dr Rakesh Gupta, the man behind this meeting has already started all preparation for this academic extravaganza. Our main focus has been reorganization of the structure of the educational tracks to make it easier for attendees to find sessions appropriate to their level of expertise (beginner, intermediate, and advanced); modification of the way that the science of echocardiography is integrated into the program; expanding the concept of presenting echocardiography in the context of clinical disease management; and providing educational opportunities for new users of ultrasound, such as emergency room physicians.

The primary driver behind all of IAE’s activities is to provide quality cardiovascular ultrasound and serve the members and public. In the year ahead, a lot of focus will be put on original research as research forms the backbone of scientific growth for any organisation. The scientific committee team of ECHOINDIA 2026 is excited to accept and accommodate original research and interesting cases. I am also happy to listen to each and every member who wish to do some original research in the field of echocardiography. Also there will be great focus on Innovation in Imaging. The advent of Structural Interventions have shown a deep requirement of echocardiographers in the field of Cardiology. We through this organisation are going to support dedicated learning tracks in this field.

In closing, IAE is very much at work serving you, its members, and the patients for whom we all provide care. In this electronic era, the Web site is an important link between you and the organisation. Consider making www.iaecho.in your home page and feel free to contact us with any questions and comments that you might have.

Dr. Shantanu P Sengupta

President , 2025-26
Indian Academy of Echocardiography