Former IAS Desh Deepak Verma replaces Dr Ambrish Mithal as President AIIMS Gorakhpur

Lucknow: The Central government has nominated the name of former IAS Desh Deepak Verma as the new president of the Governing Council of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Gorakhpur.

Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has recently issued a notification stating, "In exercise of the power conferred by section 7 (1) of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences Act, 1956 (25 of 1956), as amended by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (Amendment) Act, 2012 (37 of 2012), the Central Government hereby nominates Sh. Desh Deepak Verma, retired IAS, as President of All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Gorakhpur."

According to the notice, the Central Government nominated Mr. Desh Deepak Verma to be a member of the Institute Body of All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Gorakhpur in the place of Endocrinologist, Dr. Ambrish Mithal. It further added that the terms of office of the member shall be governed by the provisions contained in Section 6 of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences Act, 1956. 

Desh Deepak Verma, a 1978 batch IAS, has worked in very prestigious posts in both the UP government and the central government. He has been the District Magistrate Almora, Aligarh, Bareilly and Agra. Along with this, he was also the divisional commissioner of the Allahabad and Lucknow divisions.

After retirement, he served as Chairman of the UP Electricity Regulatory Commission (2013–17) and then as Secretary General, of Rajya Sabha (2017–21) in the rank of Cabinet Secretary. He also has experience working as the Secretary of the Red Cross Society, where his work in the field of Blood Donation Camps and Organ Donation Campaign has been widely appreciated. Desh Deepak Verma has been recognized as a conscientious officer.

As the commissioner of Lucknow, he has played an important role in settling the Shia-Sunni dispute going on in Lucknow for more than 20 years. He strengthened the system of e-filing of returns in the Business Tax Department. Along with this, many reforms were implemented like abolishing the nakas on the borders, starting the system of e-refund, etc. During his tenure as Principal Secretary (Transport) in Uttar Pradesh, he also initiated the introduction of air-conditioned Volvo buses in Uttar Pradesh.