New Delhi, April 9 
The empowered technical sub-committee for the selection of new Director of the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Science and Research, Chandigarh, today conducted Round 1 of interviews of  all 24 candidates in the race and shortlisted five for the final selection.

Among those shortlisted, three are learnt to be from Chandigarh. These include Dr Amod Gupta, Head of Ophthalmology, PGI; Dr D Behera, Professor, Pulmonary Medicine, PGI and Dr Raj Bahadur, Director, Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32. Dr AK Mahapatra, Head of Neurosurgery at AIIMS, New Delhi, has also been shortlisted besides one more doctor. 

The committee that made these initial selections included Union Health Secretary K. Chamdramauli, Secretary, Medical Research, VM Katoch, Director, NIMHANS, Bangalore, P. Satishchandra and Director, Tata Memorial Centre & Cancer Institute, Mumbai, Dr Rajan Badwe. 

The shortlisted names will now go to the full eight-member search panel headed by Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, who will forward a panel to the Cabinet Committee of Appointments with his recommendation. 

The final selection will be ratified by the PGI Institute Body which will meet on April 21 before the incumbent director Dr KK Talwar retires on April 30.