Balram Bhargava is an Indian physician scientist, cardiologist, medical educationist, and innovator. He is currently serving as the Chief of Cardiothoracic Centre, AIIMS. He is the former Director General at the

Indian Council of Medical Research The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the apex body in India for the formulation, coordination and promotion of biomedical research, is one of the oldest and largest medical research bodies in the world. The ICMR is funded by the Gove ...

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the NCT Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati B ...

and

secretary A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a ...

of the Department of Health Research; a division under

Ministry of Health and Family Welfare The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is an Indian government ministry charged with health policy in India. It is also responsible for all government programs relating to family planning in India. The Minister of Health and Family Welfar ...

Government of India The Government of India ( ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

Biography

Balram Bhargava was born in 1961 in Lucknow. He graduated in medicine (MBBS), followed by MD and DM with specialization in

Cardiology Cardiology () is a branch of medicine that deals with disorders of the heart and the cardiovascular system. The field includes medical diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, coronary artery disease, heart failure, valvular he ...

from King George’s Medical College,

Lucknow Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and divisio ...

. Prior to his appointment at ICMR, he was a Professor of cardiology at the

All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, also known as AIIMS Delhi, is a public medical research university and hospital in New Delhi, India. The institute is governed by the AIIMS Act, 1956 and operates autonomously under the Mini ...

(AIIMS). He is a fellow of the

National Academy of Sciences, India The National Academy of Sciences, India, established in 1930, is the oldest science academy in India. It is located in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh. Prof. Meghnad Saha was the founder president. Fellows *Suddhasatwa Basu *Sudha Bhattacharya * Chi ...

(FNASc), Fellow of the

American Heart Association The American Heart Association (AHA) is a nonprofit organization in the United States that funds cardiovascular medical research, educates consumers on healthy living and fosters appropriate cardiac care in an effort to reduce disability and death ...

(FAHA), Fellow of the

Academy of Medical Sciences The Academy of Medical Sciences is an organisation established in the UK in 1998. It is one of the four UK National Academies, the others being the British Academy, the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Royal Society. Its mission is to ad ...

(FAMS), Fellow of the

National Academy of Medical Sciences National Academy of Medical Sciences (India), better known by its acronym, NAMS, is a nodal agency under the Government of India, which acts as an advisory body to the Government in matters related to National Health Policy and Planning and as a ...

and a Fellow of the

American College of Cardiology The American College of Cardiology (ACC), based in Washington, D.C., is a nonprofit medical association established in 1949. It bestows credentials upon cardiovascular specialists who meet its qualifications. Education is a core component of t ...

(FACC). Balram resides at the AIIMS residential complex at Asiad Village, New Delhi.

Social activities

Bhargava is reported as a biomedical program administrator from

AIIMS Delhi All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, also known as AIIMS Delhi, is a public medical research university and hospital in New Delhi, India. The institute is governed by the AIIMS Act, 1956 and operates autonomously under the Mini ...

. Bhargava along with Alok Ray from

IIT Delhi The Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi is a public institute of technology located in New Delhi, India. It is one of the 23 IITs created to be Centres of Excellence for training, research and development in science, engineering and technolo ...

under the leadership of then

Department of Biotechnology The Department of Biotechnology (DBT) is an Indian government department, under the Ministry of Science and Technology responsible for administrating development and commercialisation in the field of modern biology and biotechnology in India. It ...

secretary

Maharaj Kishan Bhan Maharaj Kishan Bhan (9 November 1947 – 26 January 2020) was an Indian pediatrician and clinical scientist. He received M.B.B.S. Degree (1969) from Armed Forces Medical College, Pune and M.D. Degree from Post Graduate Institute of Medical E ...

, initiated the Indian chapter of the ''Stanford Biodesign'' and was its co-executive director (India). The organization had set goals to promote innovators of medical technology through fellowships and also to conduct internships and events related to the area. The system was supported by AIIMS, New Delhi and has Stanford University,

Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi The Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi is a public institute of technology located in New Delhi, India. It is one of the 23 IITs created to be Centres of Excellence for training, research and development in science, engineering and technol ...

, the Indo-US Science and Technology Forum (IUSSTF) and the

Ministry of Science and Technology A Science Ministry or Department of Science is a ministry or other government agency charged with science. The ministry is often headed by a Minister for Science. List of Ministries of Science Many countries have a Ministry of Science or Ministry ...

, Government of India as partners. Stanford India Biodesign program ended in 2013. Since 2008, he has been working with Biodesign Fellows Srinivas Juggu, Jayant Karve and Amit Sharma on a project trying to develop a chest compression device. If this succeeds it will be useful for patients suffering sudden cardiac arrests. Bhargava has spoken up about the need for better regulation in medical testing. He is one of the team of twelve doctors from India who plan to establish the ''Society for Less Investigative Medicine'' (SLIM), an initiative that hopes to combat the excessive commercial practices prevalent in India. SLIM is in the making since 2015 and the members hoped to start activities by 2016. The members of SLIM, when it is established, plan to work towards raising public awareness against the trend of unnecessary tests and excessive medical investigations. Bhargava has attended many international conferences and seminars where he speaks about a cardiac stent he claims to have invented.

Publications

Some of his co-authored publications include: * * *
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Awards and recognitions

In 2019 Bhargava received the Gujar Mal Science Award 2018. Bhargava is a recipient of S. N. Bose Centenary Award of the

Indian Science Congress Indian Science Congress Association(ISCA) is a premier scientific organisation of India with headquarters at Kolkata, West Bengal. The association started in the year 1914 in Kolkata and it meets annually in the first week of January. It has a ...

, Platinum Jubilee Award of the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nat ...

and the ''Vasvik Award''. He has also received ''Tata Innovation Fellowship'' for facilitating Biodesign Innovation fellows' work. The

honoured him, in 2014, by awarding him the

Padma Shri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is confe ...

, the fourth highest civilian award, for his contributions to the field of medicine (cardiology). He is one of the laureates of the 2015

UNESCO-Equatorial Guinea International Prize for Research in the Life Sciences The UNESCO-Equatorial Guinea International Prize for Research in the Life Sciences a scientific prize launched in 2012 by UNESCO to reward scientific research in the life sciences leading to improving the quality of human life. Laureates 2012 * ...

. In 2019, he received the

Dr LEE Jong-wook Memorial Prize for Public Health World Health Organization Prizes and Awards are given to recognise major achievements in public health. The candidates are nominated and recommended by each prize and award selection panel. The WHO Executive Board selects the winners, which are pre ...

In popular culture

Nana Patekar Vishwanath Patekar (born 1 January 1951), better known as Nana Patekar, is an Indian actor, screenwriter, film maker, and a former Indian Territorial Army officer, mainly working in Hindi and Marathi cinema. He is regarded as one of the finest an ...

played Bhargava in the 2023 medical film

The Vaccine War ''The Vaccine War'' is a 2023 Indian Hindi-language medical docudrama film directed by Vivek Agnihotri and produced by Pallavi Joshi. It tells about the development of Covaxin during the COVID-19 pandemic in India, shedding light on the efforts ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bhargava, Balram 1961 births Living people Recipients of the Padma Shri in medicine Medical doctors from Delhi Indian cardiologists Indian medical academics Indian medical writers Fellows of the National Academy of Medical Sciences 20th-century Indian medical doctors Fellows of the American College of Cardiology Dr LEE Jong-wook Memorial Prize for Public Health laureates