Bengal BJP government appoints neonatologist Arun Kumar Singh as advisor

Neonatologist Arun Kumar Singh, renowned for his work in newborn care, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, has been appointed as an advisor to the West Bengal government led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for a two-year period, officials disclosed on Thursday. Singh, who was previously an employee of the West Bengal health department, migrated to Rajasthan after a dispute with the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government over a transfer order in 2012, marking the end of the Left Front's 34-year rule that had governed the state.

The official appointment order was signed on Wednesday, according to a state government spokesperson who wished to remain anonymous. Singh, in addition to his role as a professor, currently leads the department of neonatology at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Jodhpur. Prior to his current position, he served as an advisor to the Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram and the child health department under the Union ministry of health and family welfare.

During the Left Front's rule in West Bengal, Singh was at the helm of the neonatology department at SSKM Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, instrumental in establishing the century-old institution's neonatology wing and breast milk bank. Following the TMC's ascension to power in 2011, Singh was transferred from SSKM to a district hospital, an event that drew considerable attention. Subsequently, the health minister, Mamata Banerjee, declared SSKM as the state's premier superspeciality hospital.