Key interview for PGI director’s post today

As of now,there are 12 doctors from PGI who are in the race for the post. However,insiders claim that two of these doctors have already decided not to appear for the interview taking place in New Delhi.

Meanwhile,all the 24 candidates,including five doctors from AIIMS will have to appear for personal interviews tomorrow before the three member sub-committee headed by K Chandramoily,union health secretary and comprising Dr V M Katoch,chairman of ICMR(Indian Council of Medical Research) and secretary,medical research and Viplove Thakur,Member of Parliament as its members.

According to sources,most of the doctors have been busy making preparations for their interview since the day each one of the 12 doctors received individual e mails to appear before the committee. In fact,most of these candidates had taken leave in advance to reach Delhi before hand and exploring all possibilities of securing brownie points.

Sources say that while one of the doctors has been trying to pull his regional connection with the Union Health Minister,many others were also trying similar tactics by asking political bigwigs to put in a word for them to the eight member selection committee. The selection committee was formed last month by the Health Minister to search the new PGI director as the post is to fall vacant after the tenure of incumbent Dr KK Talwar,ends on April 30.

Following this nominations for twenty four medical experts including 12 from the PGI itself were received by authorities for the top post of prestigious health and medical research center of country. The doctors from PGI nominated include B Sakhuja,head of department of nephrology; Amod Gupta,Dean and head of ophthalmology,P. Kulhara,head of psychiatry; Dr SK Jindal,head of pulmonary medicine; Dr AK Gupta,PGI’s medical superintendent; Savita Malhotra,professor,psychiatry; Arvind Rajvanshi,head of cytology; S. Prabhakar,head of neurology; Subhash Verma,head of internal medicine; Y. Chawla of the department of hepatology; and D. Behera,professor,pulmonary medicine,who is holding the charge of director,LRS Institute of TB and Respiratory Diseases,New Delhi. Another doctor from Chandigarh,Dr Raj Bahadur,on deputation from PGI as director-principal,GMCH-32,is also in the contest.