New Delhi: Premier health institute AIIMS has stopped providing travel grants for international conferences to doctors as part of its austerity drive.
"This is being done following recent directions on austerity measures from the Central government. So all grants for international visits to any conferences is being refused by the administration," an AIIMS official said.
"This was initiated sometime around May and June. The notification has gone to all medical institutions across the country, but it is in AIIMS alone that it is being followed religiously," he claimed.
The move, however, has not been appreciated by doctors of the hospital.
"This austerity drive will not help us. These conferences are places where we get an opportunity to showcase our research work and also learn from the work done by others. It`s part of our work to learn and also to share our good work with others. All, for the benefit of the patients," an AIIMS doctor said.
"If we have promised to deliver in an international conference and we stay absent, there is a possibility being blacklisted from such conferences for some years. Stopping grants for international travels for conferences will not help anyway," another doctor said.
PTI
