Presidential address

Thank you, Dr. Bhupendra Ahuja, my immediate predecessor for introducing me with good words and installing me as President of IRIA 2018. Thank you, Sir.

Respected dignitaries on the dais, off the dais, respected invited faculty members from all over the world, dear delegates from the country and abroad, dear family members of the delegates, the ever-supporting technology and trade partners, representatives of the media, press, ladies, and gentlemen, “Wish you all a very happy new year.” I also wish you all a very happy Republic Day for tomorrow as it is January 26.

As I stand here as the 74^th President of the Indian Radiological and Imaging Association (IRIA) in this great commercial capital of India, Mumbai, my mind goes back to the glorious history of our Association. We started our journey as the Indian Radiology Association on April 21, 1931 at Calcutta, the former capital of British India. In March 1937, the Indian Radiology Association was formally registered with a membership of 24 radiologists. The first annual congress of the Indian Radiology Association was held in 1946 at Madras. Subsequently, our headquarters moved to New Delhi, the national capital of Independent India, and the name was changed to Indian Radiological and Imaging Association. The present headquarters building complex was inaugurated on May 5, 1995.

As on December 31, 2017, we have 15,038 members of whom more than 50% are young radiologists. Thus, our association continues to be young like our country. We have branches in 24 states and very active chapters in most of the cities.

Our prestigious internationally recognized and indexed journal, “Indian Journal of Radiology and Imaging” started its publication in 1947, the year of Independence.

To guide and supervise the academic activities of the association, we have a very robust “Indian College of Radiology and Imaging,” which was started in 1976. In fact, almost every day of the year somewhere in our vast country, radiology academic program may be occurring.

As citizens of a country with the world’s second largest population, we realize that our duties and responsibilities as an accredited body of radiologists are really immense. We believe that IRIA is doing this duty with utmost sincerity and commitment.

Before I announce my plans for the year ahead, I feel that I must thank each and every person who made me the 74^th President of IRIA. I am proud to say that I am the first person from the southern-most state of the country, that is Kerala, to occupy this prestigious position. This was possible due to the unstinted support of each and every member of IRIA from the entire country. Thank you, Sirs! Thank you, Madams from the depth of my heart. You are all members of my extended family. I must thank my immediate family consisting of my mother Nani Amma, my wife Dr. Parvathi, Prof. of Pediatrics, and my daughter Durga, a Medical student, who have all been supporting me silently every second of my life. Without them, I am nothing.

What is my agenda as the 74^th President. Well, we have a system of President and the President being elected for every year.

With the concurrence of Dr. Hemant Patel, the President elect of IRIA 2018, we are declaring certain programs for the next 2 years. I hope this trend will be continuing next year also.

I. Profession first

IRIA is and will always stand for its members. That is and will be our motto at all times. The Association will be there to help any member with any professional problem. Any harassment of IRIA members will be fought legally as well as through political lobbying. There is a feeling all over the country that various other professionals are encroaching into the field of radiology and because of that some of our younger members feel insecure. This is happening in other countries also. We will have a two-pronged strategy to face this situation.

1. Radiologist should always be far ahead of others. The Association will facilitate intense training for the members so that they will always be the best. IRIA will collaborate with the National Board of Examination (DNB) to start new fellowship courses in various subspecialties under Radiology. IRIA will start subspecialty fellowships and certificate courses for its members. We plan to have dedicated fetal medicine workshops for radiologists alone in all states in India, this year itself. Special training facilities will be made available in Interventional Radiology to all desiring members

2. Through legal provisions, we will ensure that the eligibility criterion for doing ultrasound imaging will be qualification in radiology. We are thankful to the Medical Council of India for endorsing our views in this regard. We hope that the Honorable Supreme Court of India will also support our views and issue appropriate orders.

Now any individual, can purchase, install, and use radiography equipments. Through our active interactions with Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB), we will try to make it mandatory to have a radiology-qualified doctor for operating high-end X-ray machines, computed tomography scans, and Cath. labs. Now, it has become mandatory to have PNDT license to purchase magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines. Hence, the presence of a radiologist must be made compulsory wherever MRI machines are installed. The Medical Council of India has made it mandatory to have the signature of a pathologist for every pathology report. Similarly, for any radiology and imaging report, the signature of a radiologist must be made mandatory.

II. Raksha and PC-PNDT

The second flagship program we plan to launch is “Raksha.” This program conceived beautifully by MSB IRIA under the leadership of Dr. Sona Pungavkar will be adopted by IRIA on a national scale. No country can survive if female gender is systematically eliminated. Unfortunately, female feticide is still occurring in some parts of the country. To the best of our knowledge, no IRIA member is a party to this heinous crime. But we still get the blame. We, the radiologists, are committed to protect the female gender—the fetus, the child, the adolescent, and the mother.

Sonologists, sonography technicians, and all kinds of quacks are committing this crime. We, the qualified radiologists, must ensure that each and every such individual causing or helping the crime of female feticide is caught and put behind the bars. By this, we, the radiologists, will be able to practice safely. The PC-PNDT Act was passed by the Indian Parliament without much discussion and, therefore, it has many deficiencies and draconian provisions. Giving minor clerical errors, the same punishment as female feticide is absurd. “Form F” should not be used as a weapon for punishing innocent radiologists. Limiting the services of a qualified radiologist to two centers only is again unreasonable. The Association will use all its might to correct all these irrational clauses in the PC-PNDT Act, at the same time, we must realize that this is currently the law of the land and therefore we have to obey this Act, in letter and spirit. At this juncture, we would like to impress upon the government that PC-PNDT Act alone will not save the female gender. The government should make proactive laws so that every girl child is protected by their own family. Government can consider depositing an amount of Rs. 1 lakh in the name of a girl child immediately after birth. Withdrawal of this amount should be permitted only after the girl attains the age of 18. By this time, the amount would have grown to Rs. 5–10 lakhs, if invested prudently. Education of girls should be made compulsory and free, both in government and private institutions. The state of Kerala has achieved gender equality with more females than males in the general population simply by improving social conditions and female literacy. This can be replicated in the rest of the country also.

Publication History

Article published online:
26 July 2021

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