By K. Jayaraman, IANS
Bangalore : After remaining headless for 10 months, the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) finally got its chief 10 days ago, but now it is the turn of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the country’s apex medical body, to be without a head.
Nirmal Kumar Ganguly, who had been director general of ICMR for over five years retired on Nov 10. The ICMR has been headless since then and the agency’s scientists say they do not know what is happening.
“In the past, a new director general would be named before the retirement of the incumbent officer for a smooth takeover,” an ICMR scientist told IANS.
The selection to the top post is done by a screening committee and approved by the health minister.
ICMR scientists say the delay in appointing a successor to Ganguly may be because the post of director general has recently been elevated to the rank of a secretary, a position usually given to officers from the Indian Administrative Service (IAS).
“We do not know who will be our next boss – a scientist or a person from IAS,” a senior ICMR scientist said on condition of anonymity.
Ganguly himself was non committal. When contacted he said: “Wait and watch.”
Samir Brahmachari has taken over as the new director general of CSIR.