By IANS,
New Delhi: Lieutenant General H.L. Kakria, the senior-most medical officer in the army and a renowned surgeon, has taken over as the director general of the armed forces medical services, a defence ministry release said here Wednesday.
Kakria was director general medical service of the army before taking over as the chief of the tri-services medical units on Tuesday.
An alumnus of Kanpur-based GSVM Medical College, Kakria was commissioned into the Army Medical Corps in February 1972. In his 39 years of service, he held positions such as commandant of Delhi Cantonment Base Hospital, Pune-based Artificial Limb Centre and Command Hospital, Southern Command.
A Bar to Vishisht Seva Medal, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal and Param Vishisht Seva Medal awardee, he also held staff appointments such as Major General (Medical) at Pune-based Southern Army Command headquarters and later became the commandant of Army Medical Corps Centre and College.
A postgraduate in general surgery and orthopaedics from the Pune University, the officer has published numerous research papers in various national and international journals.
He was awarded the Major General Amir Chand Award in 1990 for the best research work in Orthopaedics on knee joint injuries.