Randeep Guleria appointed as new AIIMS director

Guleria has been appointed for five years from the date of assumption of charge or till attaining the age of 65 until further orders, the order said.

Doctor Randeep Guleria, head of the department of pulmonary medicine, has been appointed the director of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).

Guleria has been appointed for five years from the date of assumption of charge or till attaining the age of 65 until further orders, the order said.

Guleria will take over from Dr MC Mishra, who headed the institute for three years.

“The appointments committee of the cabinet has approved the appointment of Randeep Guleria, professor and head, department of pulmonary medicine and sleep disorders at AIIMS, New Delhi, to the post of Director, AIIMS,” a DoPT order said.

Guleria has been appointed for five years from the date of assumption of charge or till attaining the age of 65 until further orders, the order said.

Guleria joined the institute 23-years-ago as an assistant professor and the department of pulmonary medicine and sleep disorders was created under his leadership in 2011. He has worked as a personal physician to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and has also treated Union ministers Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley.

He was awarded the Padma Shree in 2015 and Dr BC Roy Award, the most prestigious award for medical professionals, in the eminent medical persons category in 2014.

Guleria comes from a family of doctors. In fact, his father, JS Guleria, also served as the dean of AIIMS. His brother, Sandeep Guleria, also worked in AIIMS before joining as a kidney transplant surgeon at Indraprastha Apollo.

Dr Randeep Guleria was among the three persons who made the final shortlist sent to the Prime Minister’s Office for the AIIMS top post. The others shortlisted were head of department of paediatrics Dr VK Paul and cardiology professor Dr Balram Bhargava.

Fifty-three doctors, including 35 from outside AIIMS, had applied for the post of the director of AIIMS, which is India’s best medical college, research and hospital established by an Act of Parliament in 1956. The hospital treats more around 12,000 people in its out-patient department every day.