According to an order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training on Friday, Srinivas, Dean of ESIC Hospital and Medical College in Hyderabad, has been appointed as the Director of AIIMS Delhi.
Dr. Srinivas will succeed Randeep Guleria who has been in the post since March 2017. Dr Srinivas was the Professor in the Department of Pediatric Surgery at AIIMS-Delhi before joining ESIC Hospital and Medical College in Hyderabad in 2016. In The order stated the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the appointment of Dr Srinivas to the post of Director, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi.
Appointment “for a period of five years from the date on which he assumes charge of the post, or till he attains the age of 65 years, or until further orders, whichever is earlier.” The order was initially given on 9 September, but the government later issued a new one, changing the date to 23 September. It further stated that the ACC had “ex-post facto approval for continuation of Dr. Randeep Guleria as Director AIIMS, New Delhi with effect from March 25, 2022 for six months, or till the induction of a new Director, Whichever comes first.”
Dr Guleria was appointed as director for a term of five years on March 28, 2017. His tenure was extended twice by three months each. Dr Guleria’s second extended tenure as the Director of AIIMS Delhi was scheduled to end on September 23.
Earlier in March, names of three Doctors — Nikhil Tandon, head of the department of endocrinology; Rajesh Malhotra, Chief of AIIMS Trauma Centre and the head of the department of orthopaedics; and Pramod Garg, Professor in the gastroenterology department in the institute — shortlisted by a search-cum-selection committee and subsequently approved by the Institute Body, the top decision-making body of the AIIMS, were sent to the ACC for approval.
The ACC, headed by the Prime Minister, had on June 20 sought a comprehensive panel of names for the post of Director of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) here. Subsequently, the name of the head of the Neurosciences Center, MV Padma Shrivastava; Dr. Balram Bhargava, former Director General of ICMR; and Dr Rakesh Agarwal, Director, Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research, Puducherry discussed.
Then the Dean of the Employees’ State Insurance Company (ESIC) Hospital and Medical College in Hyderabad, Dr.M Srinivas, Dean of Employees’ State Insurance Company (ESIC) Hospital and Medical College in Hyderabad, and Dr Sanjay Behari, Director of Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences & Technology, Trivandrum, were shortlisted by the selection-cum-search panel headed by the Union Health Secretary.
“The names of Dr. Srinivas and Dr. Bihari were placed before the institute body on Wednesday before being sent to the ACC for final approval,” a source said. Interestingly, neither Dr. Srinivas nor Dr. Bihari had applied for the post. Dr. Bihari Sanjay Gandhi in Lucknow before taking over as Director of Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology, Trivandrum in April.
In March, names of three doctors, including Dr Nikhil Tandon, head of the department of endocrinology; Dr Rajesh Malhotra, chief of AIIMS Trauma Centre and the head of the department of orthopaedics; and Dr Pramod Garg, professor in the gastroenterology department in the institute, and were shortlisted by a search-cum-selection committee and subsequently approved by the Institute Body, the top decision-making body of the AIIMS, were sent to the ACC for its approval.
On June 20, the committee headed by the Prime Minister sought a wider panel of names for the post of director of AIIMS here. Following this, names of Dr M V Padma Srivastava, chief of Neurosciences Centre; Dr Balram Bhargava, former ICMR director general, and Dr Rakesh Aggarwal, director of Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research, Puducherry; were also sent.
As the search for the top post was on, incumbent Director Dr Randeep Guleria’s tenure, which was till March 24, was extended by three months. Later again it was extended for another three months.
