AIIMS Director Selection: Check out the top 5 shortlisted names

"These five shortlisted names will now be placed before the Institute Body, the top decision making body at AIIMS, on January 28. It will select one name and send it to the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) headed by the Prime Minister for the final approval," said a senior Health Ministry official.

The seven names that were shortlisted by the panel in its last meet also included Dr V K Bahl, HOD Cardiology and Dr Chitra Sarkar, Professor, Pathology besides the ones that were shorlisted today.

Apart from Health Secretary Mishra, who was the chairperson of the panel, the committee comprised Prime Minister's Principal Scientific Adviser R Chidambaram, Secretary in Department of Health Research Soumya Swaminathan, Director General of Health Services Jagdish Prasad and Vice Chancellor of Delhi University Yogesh Tyagi.

AIIMS had last month recommended a search-cum-selection committee headed by Union Health Minister J P Nadda which was rejected by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT).

The PMO had then ordered reconstitution of the search panel based on DoPT guidelines.

53 eminent doctors, including 35 from outside AIIMS, have applied for the post.

The current Director of AIIMS Dr M C Mishra is slated to retire on January 31.