New Delhi, Mar 30 (PTI) Names of three doctors, shortlisted by a search-cum-selection panel for the post of AIIMS director, have been approved by a key body of the institute and will now be sent to the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) for final approval.

The three AIIMS doctors recommended for the top job in the premier institute are Dr Nikhil Tandon, head of the department of endocrinology; Dr Rajesh Malhotra, chief of AIIMS Trauma Centre and the head of the department of orthopaedics; and Dr Pramod Garg, professor in the gastroenterology department at the institute, sources said.

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These three names shortlisted by the search-cum-selection committee were placed before the Institute Body, the top decision-making body of the AIIMS, on Tuesday and were approved.

These names will be sent to the ACC headed by the prime minister for final approval, the sources said.

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The four-member search-cum-selection committee tasked with shortlisting names for the AIIMS director's post is headed by Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan.

Apart from Bhushan, the committee includes Secretary of Department of Biotechnology Rajesh S Gokhale, Principal Scientific Advisor to the government K Vijay Raghavan, and Delhi University vice-chancellor Yogesh Singh.

The tenure of New Delhi AIIMS director Dr Randeep Guleria, which was set to end on March 24, was extended by three months. He was appointed to the post on March 28, 2017.

Around 32 candidates had applied for the post of director of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi. They included 13 doctors from AIIMS as well as ICMR Director General Balram Bhargava.

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