Dr Balram Bhargava's tenure as ICMR Director General extended for three more months

Two new variants of Omicron strain BA.4 and BA.5 under WHO microscope

Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic hit India in March 2020, ICMR, with Bhargava at the forefront, has conducted research work and serosurveys to check the spread of the virus and given guidance on combatting it accordingly.

According to the ICMR website, Bhargava has won the N Bose Centenary award by the Indian National Science Congress and National Academy of Sciences Platinum Jubilee Award, Tata Innovation Fellowship and Vasvik Award for Biomedical Technology Innovation, Ranbaxy Award and the OP Bhasin Award in the field of Health and Medical Sciences.

He has also been awarded the 'Padma Shri' by the President of India and the UNESCO Equatorial Guinea International Prize for research in Life Sciences at Paris, the ICMR website added.

Last month, the tenure of Dr Randeep Guleria, the director of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), was also extended for three months.

Guleria had taken over as the Director of AIIMS in 2017. He is the only institute director, who has completed his five-year term, which was introduced in 2007.

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