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AIIMS, PGI doctors' retirement age raised to 62
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, Dec 19 — The Centre today decided to raise the retirement age of doctors working in All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) here and Post Graduate Institute for Medical Education and Research (PGI) in Chandigarh from 60 to 62 years, official sources said.

About 450 doctors from AIIMS and 325 doctors from PGI are expected to benefit from the government’s decision.

Only doctors working in these two autonomous institutes under the Ministry of Health have been given this benefit even though there are several such institutions under the ministry, the sources added.

The Director of AIIMS, Dr P K Dave, when informed about the government’s decision, said "the move does not surprise me."

Welcoming the decision, he said "the retirement age of teaching faculty in the Indian Institute of Technology and other research institutions have been increased to 62 years by the University Grants Commission."

The expertise gained by the doctors over the years can be now disseminated to the upcoming persons in the medical profession for two more years, the AIIMS director said.

The general secretary of the Indian Medical Association (IMA), Dr Prem Aggarwal, while welcoming the decision, said "the government’s move should confine to only research institutions."

"Doctors in research institutions impart knowledge and an increase in their retirement age would only benefit the medical fraternity," he said.

Dr Aggarwal said the government should not expand the decision to those doctors serving in other government hospitals as there are number of qualified doctors who are unemployed.

Another doctor associated with the IMA, Dr Ashwani K Malhotra, said the government should consider employing senior doctors more as consultants. "This would not only increase the employment opportunity of upcoming doctors but also help them to learn from those who have the experience," he added.

CHANDIGARH (TNS): The extension in the retirement age of faculty members of PGI from 60 year to 62 years is expected to give some respite to the PGI that is already short on staff. At least five senior professors who were scheduled to retire within the coming two years will now stay on.

This year seven senior professors retired leaving a big vacuum at the top. The PGI Director, Prof BK Sharma said: "The old lot will now stay on and this will help us as there has been no recruitment in the PGI for long". Among those who were to retire in the coming months is Prof AK Banerjee. In the next 18 months or so Prof RJ Dash, Prof S.K. Sharma , Prof Subhash Gupta and Prof SK Kataria, would have followed suit.

Among those lost out by a whisker were Prof VK Kak, Prof RC Mahajan, Prof SD Deodhar, Prof RK Suri , Prof S.K. Mitra , Prof Sobha Sehgal and Prof Amrit Tewari. Almost all of them are world renowned experts in their respective areas of medicine and surgery.

The PGI authorities had moved papers for the seven for temporary extensions subject to an extension in the retirement age, however, the Union Health Ministry had declined to do so. The retirement age of administrative employees of the PGI was extended some weeks ago. back

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