NEW DELHI: The appointment of M Srinivas as a member of NITI Aayog has set off a transition at AIIMS Delhi, with an interim director likely to be named before the government appoints a full-time head. With his move, there is no immediate clarity on who will take charge.
Officials said the selection of a full-time director could take several months, and in the interim, the institute is likely to be led by the senior-most faculty member, in line with past practice. Names doing the rounds include senior faculty such as Dr Nikhil Tandon, professor and head of endocrinology; Dr Radhika Tandon, chief professor of ophthalmology; and Prof Sandeep Chauhan, head of cardiac anaesthesia department. However, sources cautioned that no decision has been taken yet.
“There are established conventions, but nothing is final yet. Typically, the senior-most person is asked to hold charge,” a senior doctor said. Srinivas still had time left in his tenure. Officials said the government is expected to move quickly to ensure continuity.
Srinivas, who took charge in September 2022, succeeded Randeep Guleria. His three-year tenure saw no major controversies, though early on the institute faced a ransomware attack that crippled servers. AIIMS Delhi has traditionally favoured internal leadership, with many directors rising through the ranks. Srinivas, too, had prior links with the institute before his 2022 appointment, although he had not applied for the post and was picked from a wider panel considered by the Appointments Committee of Cabinet.
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Anuja Jaiswal is a Senior Assistant Editor at The Times of India, with an impressive 18-year career in narrative journalism. She specializes in health and heritage reporting, expertly simplifying complex health information to make it engaging and understandable for readers. Her deep dives into heritage topics are well-researched, resulting in captivating narratives that resonate with her audience. Over the years, she has worked in Chandigarh, Chhattisgarh and West UP, gaining diverse on-ground experience that shapes her storytelling.
