Prof. Ashok Puranik

Executive Director - AIIMS Guwahati

Prof. Ashok Puranik assumed the appointment of Executive Director, AIIMS Guwahati on July 10, 2022. Immediately before joining the Institute, Prof. Puranik was heading the Department of General Surgery, as well as super-specialty Departments of Trauma & Emergency, Gastro-intestinal Surgery, and Plastic Surgery at AIIMS Jodhpur.

Prof. Puranik is an alumnus of the renowned Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru Memorial Medical College, Raipur. He was commissioned in the Indian Army as a Medical Officer in 1985, and he initially worked in the North- Eastern states which included a prolonged stint in the high-altitudes, caring the soldiers and the field area. Later, in 1992, he completed his post-graduation in Surgery from the prestigious Armed Forces Medical College, Pune.

During his illustrious service of more than 3 decades in the Indian Army, Prof. Puranik was involved in field as well as peace tenures across the country and abroad which included tenures in Nagaland, Kargil, CI Ops, and Sri Lanka. He also served as the Head of Surgery at the Command Hospital – Southern Command and Armed Forces Medical College, Pune for a duration of 5 years. Notably, Prof. Puranik had also served as an army surgeon in the longest traveling ambulance train ‘Operation Dhanwantari’ – an effort that made into The Guinness Book of World Records.

Some notable events in the professional career of Prof. Puranik with the Indian Army include:

1. 1988 Field Medical officer in the care of injured Tamil civilians, Operation PAWAN, Sri Lanka
2. 1989-92 Surgical trainee at AFMC Pune
3. 1993 Counter Insurgency Operations, Nagaland, managing gunshot wounds and civilian care
4. 1997 Civil aid, flood relief and medical care in Madhya Pradesh
5. 1999. Disaster management Pooja Express Bomb Blast
6. 1999 Operation VIJAY, Kargil Operation
7. 2003-04 Trauma care fellowship, Alfred Hospital, Melbourne, Australia
8. 2005-08 In-charge of Trauma Care to establish Trauma Care at Jalandhar
9. 2009-10 In-charge of Trauma Center, Jammu & Kashmir
10. 2010 Awarded commendation by General Officer Commanding in Command
11. 2011 Trauma Care education and training to medical and nursing personnel at Command Hospital, Pune
12. 2012 Introduction of vacuum assisted closure of wounds at AFMC, Pune
13. 2014 Introduction of a newer technique of managing Fournier’s Gangrene

Prof. Puranik is an internationally recognised trauma surgeon and surgical intensivist, having completed his Fellowship in Trauma from the renowned Alfred Hospital, Melbourne, Australia. He was also involved in teaching and mentoring in the fields of advanced laparoscopy, bariatric surgery, damage control surgery in trauma, and emergency management in trauma care.

Prof. Puranik has several accolades to his credit including the GOC in C Award for ‘Outstanding Clinical/ Scientific Achievement for Trauma Surgery’ and various medals for High Altitude and General Services. He is a member of the International Hi-Tech Surgeons and the Armed Forces Surgeons of India. Prof. Puranik is a doyen in the field of Trauma Care, and he is constantly involved and invested in the development of a regionalised trauma system in India. Outside patient care and academia, Prof. Puranik is also an acclaimed author, a popular keynote speaker, a futurist, and a strategic business & technology advisor to governments and companies.

At AIIMS Guwahati, Prof. Puranik envisages to develop the Institute into a state-of-the-art facility that caters to the three-pronged approach adopted by the AIIMS institutions, namely, Quality Medical Education, Evidence based Patient Care, and Cutting-edge Research.

1. The patient care services at AIIMS Guwahati are being set-up to serve the needs of the entire North-East and the rest of the country, to fulfil the aim of the PMSSY – to correct regional imbalances in quality tertiary level healthcare. The patient services are being delivered through more than 35 Departments with expertise in broad specialty and super-specialty medical subjects. The Institute envisions to bring modern and advanced treatment facilities aligned with international guidelines and protocols – this, further augmented by the latest imaging and laboratory diagnostic facilities, and high-quality nursing-care.


2. The Institute commenced its academic programme in January 2021 and is focussed on imparting quality medical education using the most-refined and up-to-date Teaching-Learning methods to under-graduate students at present, and post-graduate and doctoral students of medicine, nursing, and allied fields in the immediate future. The Institute also has a strong engagement with basic sciences and various programmes in that arena, with aims to improve technology development and innovation.


3. The Institute also has a strong commitment towards research and is being equipped to carry out activities in both health-oriented research, as well as basic research. The Institute is developing into a hub of scientific activities and research excellence, stand-alone, as well as in collaboration with other INIs and research institutions of repute – within India and across the globe.