Tenure Ends for Dr Suresh Chandra Sharma, Health Ministry Appoints MARB President Dr. B.N.Gangadhar as Officiating NMC Chairman

New Delhi: The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has now appointed the president of the Medical Assessment and Rating Board (MARB) Dr. B.N.Gangadhar as the Officiating Chairman of the National Medical Commission (NMC) for a period of three months.

This decision has been taken by the Ministry as the tenure of the current chairman Dr. Suresh Chandra Sharma ends today i.e. on 24.09.2023. Dr. Sharma was appointed as the Chairman of NMC when the Commission replaced the erstwhile Medical Council of India. He was appointed for a period of three years. Previously, Professor Sharma worked as the Chief of Delhi AIIMS' ENT head-neck surgery department.

Dr. Gangadhar will execute the duties of the Chairman till a regular appointment is made or for a period of three months or ntil further order whichever is earlier. He would take charge as the Officiating Chairman on 25.09.2023.

Writing to the NMC Secretary, the Union Health Ministry informed, "I am directed to refer to the subject mentioned above and state that the term of the current Chairman, National Medical Commission (NMC) is going to end on 24.09.2023."

"The matter has been examined in this Ministry and it has been decided with the approval of the competent authority to assign Officiating Charge for the post of Chairman, NMC to Dr. B. N. Gangadhar, President, Medical Assessment and Rating Board w.e.f. 25.09.2023 till a regular appointment is made or for a period of three months or until further order whichever is earlier," the Ministry further stated.

"This issues with the approval of the Hon’ble Minister of Health and Family Welfare," the letter added.

Also Read: Meet the new Medical Regulators: AIIMS ENT HOD Dr Suresh Chandra Sharma appointed NMC Chairman, RK Vats as Secretary

Dr. Gangadhar was appointed as the President of the NMC Medical Assessment and Rating Board through a Gazette notification dated 24th May 2021. He is also a Senior Professor of Psychiatry, and brings over 30 years of extensive experience in the field of mental health, from both clinical and academic perspectives. He was also awarded with Padma Shri back in the year 2020.

He obtained his MBBS degree from Bangalore Medical College in 1978. He joined NIMHANS as a faculty in 1982 after completing MD Psychiatry from the same Institute in 1981. He was conferred the prestigious Fellow of National Academy of Medical Sciences (FAMS) degree in 2006 and D.Sc. (Doctor of Science) from SVYASA Yoga University, Bengaluru for his research work on Yoga and Mental Health in 2012.

Concurrent with his faculty post, he has served the Institute in various capacities such as Medical Superintendent; Head, Department of Psychiatry; Dean (Behavioural Sciences), and Program Director/Head of the Advanced Centre for Yoga.

Dr. Gangadhar is the recipient of the coveted Sir CV Raman Award and Doctors Day Award from the Government of Karnataka. He has also shared over 25 awards with other primary recipients.

He has more than 350 publications in National and International journals and several articles in books. He has been the principal investigator and co-investigator for many WHO, Fogarty International, DST, ICMR, AYUSH, CCRYN, and CCRAS-funded projects. Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, honoured him with the Sir C V Raman Award for medical sciences in 1998. He got the Dr. D. S. Raju Memorial Oration Award from the Indian Psychiatry Society in 2001. Besides he has been co-recipients of many other awards.

To view the Ministry letter, click on the link below:

https://medicaldialogues.in/pdf_upload/nmc-officiating-chairman-220809.pdf

Also Read: Dr BN Gangadhar appointed as President NMC Medical Assessment and Rating Board: Gazette