IIPS director suspended to ensure fair probe, says government

IIPS director KS James has been suspended to ensure a fair probe into the alleged irregularities in the appointments and recruitment of faculty, and compliance with reservation rosters, the Union health ministry said while asserting that the move should not be seen as a punishment. The ministry on Saturday said the suspension initially is for 90 days or completion of further investigation, whichever is earlier. It is revocable with the approval of the Suspension Revocation Committee/Review Committee in the ministry.

The International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS) is an institute under the administrative control of the Union health ministry which prepares the National Family Health Surveys.

A media report has claimed that James was asked by the government to resign earlier as it was not happy with certain data sets that came up in the surveys conducted by IIPS. However, a Union health ministry statement issued here said, "The suspension is not a punishment but to pave way for a fair and free investigation."