Cabinet extends ICMR tenure of Dr Balram Bhargava by three months

New Delhi: The term of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) Director-General Dr. Balram Bhargava has been extended by three months until further orders.

Dr Bhargav will continue as DG ICMR-cum-Secretary Department of Health and Research for another three more months starting April 15. He was appointed on April 16, 2018, for a four-year term.

Also Read:AIIMS New Delhi extends tenure of Director, Dr Randeep Guleria.

"The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved extension in the services of Prof. Balram Bhargava as Director General (DG), Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)-cum-Secretary, Department of Health Research for a further period of three months beyond April 15, 2022, or until further orders, whichever is earlier," said a circular accessed by ANI.

Prior to his appointment at ICMR, he was a Professor of cardiology at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi (AIIMS).

Professor Balram Bhargava has always played an eminent role in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, the premier institute Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) ICMR kept on conducting various research to combat the spread of the virus.

Professor Bhargava has been awarded the 'Padma Shri' high civilian award in 2014 by the Honourable President of India and the UNESCO Equatorial Guinea International Prize for research in Life Sciences at Paris. And has also awarded the SN Bose Centenary award by the Indian National Science Congress and National Academy of Sciences Platinum Jubilee Award, Tata Innovation Fellowship and Vasvik Award for Biomedical Technology Innovation, Ranbaxy Award, and the OP Bhasin Award in the field of Health and Medical Sciences. 

He also founded the Society for Less Investigative Medicine (SLIM) and is the Founding Editor-in-Chief of the British Medical Journal Innovations (BMJi).

Recently, the tenure of the director of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences ( AIIMS) in Delhi, Dr Randeep Guleria, has been extended for three months or till the new director is selected.

The selection committee has also started the selection process for the director.

Also Read:Search for AIIMS Director... Validity of search committee now under question