Kolkata, Nov 10 (IANS) Professor Arun Kumarendu Singh, full-time Professor and Head of Paediatrics at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur’s School of Medicine, has been appointed as Advisor to the Department of Health and Family Welfare, Government of West Bengal, for a two-year term, with particular focus on strengthening maternal and child healthcare.
Widely recognised as the “Father of Sick Newborn Care Units (SNCUs)” in India, Professor Singh is a pioneering architect of the country’s modern neonatal healthcare infrastructure.
His contributions to the development and scaling of specialised newborn care systems have transformed the accessibility of life-saving neonatal services, particularly for vulnerable infants in underserved communities.
His acclaimed Purulia Model demonstrated how high-quality neonatal care could be delivered through decentralised, affordable and compassionate healthcare systems.
“The appointment marks a significant recognition of the professional stature of a distinguished member of IIT Kharagpur’s full-time medical faculty. It also emphasises the growing national relevance of the Institute’s emerging Medical School, which is bringing together clinical leadership and technological capabilities to develop a distinctive model of medical education, healthcare delivery and translational innovation,” the institute has said.
The professor’s pioneering contributions also include the establishment of specialised neonatal and perinatal care infrastructure, human milk banking and early intervention facilities, helping shape the evolution of modern newborn healthcare in India. His influence extends from clinical practice to national health policy.
As a key technical leader associated with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, he contributed to the development of the Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK), including its large-scale architecture for screening and early intervention for childhood diseases, congenital conditions, nutritional deficiencies and developmental delays.
His contributions to maternal and child healthcare monitoring, including the Mother and Child Protection Card, further reflect his commitment to preventive, accessible and inclusive healthcare.
Prof Singh previously held senior academic and clinical leadership positions at IPGMER and SSKM Hospital, Kolkata, and AIIMS Jodhpur.
He currently serves as a full-time professor and head of paediatrics at IIT Kharagpur, where he is actively spearheading the development of comprehensive paediatric, perinatal, maternal and child healthcare services.
“The Government of West Bengal’s recent decision to appoint Prof Singh as a Health Advisor, alongside obstetrics and gynaecology specialist Arup Kumar Maji, reflects the importance of experienced clinical leadership in advancing maternal and child healthcare priorities,” the government has said.
For IIT Kharagpur, the appointment represents an important recognition of the calibre of expertise being assembled within its Medical School. It also creates opportunities for stronger convergence between the Institute’s medical and technological capabilities and the healthcare priorities of the State.
Prof Suman Chakraborty, director, IIT Kharagpur, congratulated Prof Singh and stated: “We are exceptionally proud that Prof Arun Kumarendu Singh, one of the pioneering architects of India’s newborn healthcare revolution, is a full-time Professor and Head of Paediatrics at IIT Kharagpur’s Medical School. His work has transformed the way neonatal healthcare reaches vulnerable communities, and his contributions to national child-health programmes have created an enduring legacy of clinical excellence and public service.”
He said that his appointment to this important advisory responsibility by the Government of West Bengal is a fitting recognition of his exceptional stature.
“It is also a matter of great pride for IIT Kharagpur that a member of our full-time medical faculty has been entrusted with contributing to such an important public-health mission,” he added.
The Medical School is being developed by IIT Kharagpur as a distinctive interdisciplinary institution, combining advanced medical education and clinical services with the Institute’s established strengths in engineering, artificial intelligence, biomedical technologies, computational sciences and translational research.
The Institute envisages leveraging his pioneering experience in neonatal healthcare and national public-health systems to advance new solutions in high-risk pregnancy monitoring, newborn intensive care, early disease detection, developmental screening, AI-enabled clinical decision support, remote healthcare delivery and affordable diagnostic technologies.
These efforts are expected to complement IIT Kharagpur’s growing portfolio of healthcare innovations, including device-free diagnostic platforms, low-cost screening technologies, digital-health solutions and community-oriented translational research.
“At IIT Kharagpur, our aspiration is not to create another conventional medical institution, but to establish a new paradigm in which outstanding clinicians and frontier technologists work together to transform healthcare delivery. Prof. Singh’s presence as a full-time member of our Medical School faculty is an extraordinary strength in realising this vision,” Prof. Chakraborty further said.
–IANS
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