Dr KK Aggarwal takes oath as IMA’s National President

Dr KK Aggarwal takes oath as IMA’s National President Promises to represent the best interests of over 2.8 lakh registered IMA doctors from across the country New Delhi December 28, 2016: Padma Shri and Dr B C Roy National Awardee Dr KK Aggarwal was today sworn in as the 88th President of Indian Medical Association today. Dr RN Tandon will support him as the association’s Honorary Secretary General. The Indian Medical Association is the largest representative organisation of doctors of modern scientific medicine in the world with over 2.8 lakh-registered members, 1700 local and 30 state branches. The installation of IMA’s new Governing Body took place at its 77th Central Council Meeting – NATCON’16 in the presence of Dr Ketan Desai – President World Medical Association, Dr Jayshree Ben Mehta – President MCI & Mr AR Kohli – Former Governor of Mizoram. Taking his oath as the new IMA National President, Dr K.K Aggarwal said, “It fills me with utmost pride and joy to take on the post of the IMA National President. I vow to take my work forward with dedication, integrity and honesty. I look forward to working with Team Digital IMA. The real strength of IMA lies in its unity and a collective commitment to the betterment of the medical profession, and it is for this reason that the theme for the coming year will be ‘IMA One Voice. The four A’s of universal healthcare- “Available”, “Accessible”, “Affordable”, and “Accountable” will be the guiding determinants of this our policies for the year 2017. Our fight against the unfair nature of the PCPNDT and Clinical Establishment Act, increasing violence against doctors, the undemocratic NMC Act will continue.” Adding to this, Dr Tandon, said that, “IMA has witnessed historic wins over the past two years. I assume this position with the promise to stay committed to the aim of restoring the nobility of the profession and working towards the best interest of the medical fraternity as a whole. This year, IMA will embrace the Digital India initiative by our honorable Prime Minister, and will work paperless from the forthcoming term”. Congratulating the new team, Dr Ketan Desai, President of the World Medical Association added that, “Team IMA 2017’s vision of becoming a digitally superior, cashless and transparent organisation is commendable and heralds a promising future for the medical fraternity. I congratulate the new team and as the World Medical Association’s President, promise my commitment to highlighting the key success and issues faced by the Indian medical fraternity at a global forum.” Mr AR Kohli, Former Governor of Mizoram said, “The medical profession is a noble one, and we must respect those who tirelessly work to help us stay healthy and alive. I congratulate Dr KK Aggarwal and look forward to a more efficient medical fraternity under his able leadership.” In 2017 IMA will continue to fight for its demand of capping the compensation provided in medical negligence cases, undemocratic National Commission Bill and a ban on non-MBBS and non-BDS doctors prescribing modern medicine drugs. Some key initiatives that will be launched this year include a mandatory request for organ donation under the ‘Poochna mat bhoolo’ initiative, auditing of preventable mortality and ‘think before you ink’ campaign in context of encouraging blood donations. Finally, ‘Jiska koi nahi uska IMA’ resonates the ideology that IMA holds above all- the greatest good is in helping those in need. With this vision, IMA plans to make affordable, quality and specialized healthcare available to all. This shift in IMA’s ideology from ‘What IMA can do’ to ‘What IMA should do’ will help foster more holistic and community directed goals and visions as IMA strives to touch new heights this year.