Dr. M. Subrahmanyam is doyen in oculoplastic surgery. Having served as the president of OPAI in the past, he has mentored many oculoplastic surgeons. In his academic career, he established this department of oculoplastics at Sarojini Devi Eye Hospital and Regional Institute of Ophthalmology, Hyderabad where in addition to having performed several thousand surgeries, he also started long-term fellowship training programs. He is the first Indian to write a book on orbital diseases. The M Subrahmanyam award is given to the Best Original Free Paper in Orbit and related Oncology and Pathology.
The previous winners of this award are below:
| Year | Winner | Venue |
| 2015 | Sima Das | Bhubaneshwar, Odisha |
| 2016 | Varsha Backiavathy | Vadodara, Gujarat |
| 2017 | Sapan Shah | Madurai, Tamil Nadu |
| 2018 | Sonal Chaugule | Jaipur, Rajasthan |
The guidelines for the award are as follows:
- Award will be given for the Best Original Free Paper in Orbit and related Oncology and Pathology
- Any ratified member of OPAI will be eligible for the award
- The award will be given to the presenting author
- The award will be presented once a year
- The award will be given for the work done in India
- The award will carry a Certificate and a Medal
- The Certificate shall mention the list of co-authors
- The award will not be given to the same person twice