Balram Bhargava Appointed As New Director General of ICMR

Balram Bhargava Appointed As New Director General of ICMR- Details, About ICMR

AIIMS Professor, Balram Bhargava has been appointed as the new Director General of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and Secretary of the Department of Health Research (DHR).

Balram Bhargava has been appointed by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) governed by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 10th April 2018.

Balram Bhargava will serve as the chief of ICMR & secretary of DHR, for the duration of three years (2021) or until attaining the age of 60 years.

Balram Bhargava is currently serving as the Professor and Senior Consultant Cardiologist at the All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi.

Balram Bhargava will take charge as the new DG in ICMR, succeeding former ICMR DG Soumya Swaminathan. She was appointed as the Deputy Director General for the World Health Organisation in October 2017.

About Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)

The ICMR is India’s highest scientific body for the formulation, coordination and promotion of biomedical research.

The ICMR was established in 1911 as Indian Research Fund Association (IRFA) making it one of the oldest and largest medical research bodies in the world.

The ICMR functions under Department of Health Research, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

The ICMR is headquartered in New Delhi. Its Governing Body is presided over by Health Minister.

The ICMR’s research work chiefly focuses on national health priorities such as control and management of communicable diseases, fertility control, maternal and child health, control of nutritional disorders, research on major non-communicable diseases like cancer, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and mental health research and drug research etc.