Kollam: On a momentous occasion at the 98th national conference of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) held at Kovalam, Dr R.V. Asokan, a distinguished doctor from Kerala, has officially assumed the position of national president of the Indian Medical Association (IMA). Dr Asokan is a practising general physician running a 43 bedded hospital, in Punalur, a small town in Kollam district of Kerala.
Dr. Asokan's ascendancy to the prestigious position is a testament to his notable contributions and leadership within the medical fraternity. Post MBBS, he completed his MD in General Medicine. He was the IMA state secretary of Kerala state for 3 years and also served as its state president. Having previously served as the IMA national secretary and held key positions at both the state chapter as president and secretary, Dr Asokan brings a wealth of experience and expertise to his new role. His dedicated service at various levels within the IMA underscores a commitment to advancing healthcare initiatives and advocating for the medical community.
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He conceived and established IMAGE which was a project to handle bio-medical waste of the entire Kerala, he was the chairman of the scheme for six years. He also played the lead in bringing the Rs 100 crore GFATM TB public-private mix project to IMA and served as its National coordinator for 6 years. He served for two years in the Strategy and Technical Advisory Group for TB in WHO (Geneva) and is one of the contributors of international standards for TB care. He served as the National Joint Secretary of the IMA Hospital Board of India for 4 years and its chairman for the past 4 years.
As per a recent media report by The Hindu, the esteemed vice-presidents of IMA accompanying Dr Asokan include Gunasekharan from Tamil Nadu, Shivkumar Utture from Maharashtra, Suresh Gutta from Telangana, and Ashok Sharda from Rajasthan. Anil Kumar Naik, representing Gujarat, has assumed the pivotal role of the national secretary general, overseeing crucial administrative functions.
The team of joint secretaries includes Munish Prabhakar from Haryana, Prakash Lalchandani from Delhi, M. Venkatachalapathy from Karnataka, and Pradeep Kumar Nemani from West Bengal, contributing to the collaborative leadership structure of the IMA. Shitij Bali, hailing from Delhi, has taken on the role of finance secretary, overseeing the financial affairs of the association.