New Delhi: The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the extension in the services of Prof Balram Bhargava as Director General (DG), Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and Secretary, Department of Health Research, for a further period of three months.

ICMR, the apex body in India for the formulation, coordination and promotion of biomedical research, is one of the oldest medical research bodies in the world. It has always attempted to address itself to the growing demands of scientific advances in biomedical research on the one hand, and to the need of finding practical solutions to the health problems of the country, on the other.

The ICMR has come a long way from the days when it was known as the IRFA, but the Council is conscious of the fact that it still has miles to go in pursuit of scientific achievements as well as health targets. /BI/