Lt Gen Ashok Kumar Jindal honoured with Param Vishisht Seva Medal

Raipur: In a significant achievement, Lt Gen Ashok Kumar Jindal, executive director of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Raipur was honoured with the Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM) by President Droupadi Murmu on Friday at Rashtrapati Bhavan.  

Lt Gen Ashok Kumar Jindal received the award for his distinguished service and exceptional achievements in the Armed Forces. An army doctor who retired from the position of director of the army hospital possesses over 40 years of experience with leadership experience across multiple hospitals.

In February 2024, Dr Jindal was given the charge of Executive Director and CEO at India's premier medical and research institute- All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Raipur after leaving the position of Director and Commandant of Army Hospital (Research & Referral), New Delhi.

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Earlier, Jindal served as Chief Medical Director at Command Hospital Udhampur in Jammu and Kashmir. He was also a full-time professor in community medicine at Armed Forces Medical College. 

As the Director and Commandant of the Army Hospital, he successfully restarted liver, heart, and pediatric heart valve transplant programs. Under his leadership, the hospital also developed significant infrastructure for the welfare of military personnel, including an Early Intervention Centre for Special Children and a new Accident and Emergency Centre, TOI reports. It is also the only Army hospital in India in 2023 to receive the Chief of Army Recognition Award. 

Dr Jindal also set up COVID care, quarantine and vaccination centres for the Army as well as for the citizens at Command Hospital Udhampur in Jammu and Kashmir as the Chief Medical Director. He also set up the only RT-PCR lab in the entire Udhampur district. 

His exemplary service led to the hospital receiving the Army Commanders Unit Appreciation on Army Day 2021 while he received the Army Commander’s Award for excellent management of the COVID-19 crisis. 

A dedicated leader, he was conferred with Two Military Awards- the Yudh Seva Medal (YSM) from the president for his distinguished service of a high order during the Indo-Pak War in Siachen Glacier in 1989 and the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM) for efficiently managing the COVID-19 pandemic.

Medical Dialogues team had reported that Dr Jindal has rich experience in leading public health programmes and a very specialized teaching experience at the prestigious Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC), Pune.

Jindal completed his MBBS and MD in community medicine and diploma in industrial health from AFMC in 1990. He completed his PhD from the Jawahar National University in 2002. He was the Organising Secretary of the National CME on RCH held at AFMC Pune in 2005. He was also appointed to the National Advisory Board for the Medical Journal Armed Forces India. He has also provided services under the UN in Cambodia.

Additionally, he has authored over 11 publications, two of which involved collaboration with WHO.

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