Dibrugarh: The Regional Medical Research Centre (RMRC), situated at Lahowal in Dibrugarh, Assam has once again come under the spotlight following anomalies in the advertisement published for the post of Director of the Centre.

The current director, Kanwar Narain, is due to retire on August 31 (Thursday).

The advertisement was published in a leading national newspaper on May 29, 2023, inviting applications for the post of Director of the RMRC, Lahowal, on an all-India basis.

The last date for submitting applications was June 29, 2023.

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The applicant must be over 58 years of age and the application fee is INR 1,500, however, candidates belonging to Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) are exempted from paying the fee.

In response to the advertisement, a total of 13 candidates from different parts of the country applied online for the post of Director of the RMRC.

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The Central Selection Committee has selected 11 candidates out of these 13 and their interviews have been scheduled for September 2, 2023, in an online mode.

It is worth mentioning that the advertisement for the post of Director of the RMRC did not mention any eligibility criteria for candidates holding a veterinary science degree.

However, surprisingly, a candidate with a veterinary science degree has been included in the list of selected candidates for the interview scheduled for September 2, 2023.

Sources have said that many people have expressed their dismay over the selection of a candidate with a veterinary science degree for the interview. They have also alleged that two candidates from the state, who met all the eligibility criteria and age requirements, have not been selected for the interview.

The RMRC is one of the six regional centres of the ICMR located at Lahowal in Dibrugarh. It covers the entire northeastern region of India and is responsible for carrying out biomedical research.

It was established in 1982 and runs with intramural grants from the ICMR and extramural ad hoc projects from various funding agencies.

Avik Chakraborty is Northeast Now Correspondent in Dibrugarh. He can be reached at: [email protected]