On Friday, the Central Government named Dr. Rajiv Bahl as Director General of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and interim Secretary of the Department of Health Research (DHR). He has been elected for a three-year term. He is currently working for the World Health Organisation.
Dr. Rajiv Bahl has been appointed by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet to the position of Director General, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)-cum-Secretary Department of Health Research for a period of three years. Dr. Bahl currently serves as the head of the following units at WHO, Geneva, Switzerland:
- Research on Maternal, Newborn Child, and adolescent Health-cum-Newborn
- Department of Maternal newborn child and adolescent health and aging
After the Department of Health Research (DHR) released an announcement seeking applicants for the top position of Director, ICMR, the central government received submissions from 35 candidates.
One of the first organizations for medical research in the world, ICMR, New Delhi, is the supreme body in India for the formulation, coordination, and promotion of biomedical research. The leading organization for medical research encourages and funds both internal and external research projects in the areas of infectious and non-infectious disorders as well as basic medical sciences. There are 27 ICMR institutes spread across India. This premier centre for medical research made significant contributions to the development of research-based scientific evidence and pandemic-fighting strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic.
