AFMC TO HOLD LANDMARK COMMISSIONING CEREMONY FOR FIFTIETH BATCH OF MEDICAL GRADUATES

Armed Forces Medical College, Pune will achieve an important milestone on 31 March 2016. The fiftieth batch of medical graduates to pass out of AFMC, Pune will be commissioned into the Armed Forces Medical Services. Shri Manohar Parrikar, Hon’ble Raksha Mantri, Ministry of Defence, Govt of India will be the chief guest at the Commissioning Ceremony, which is the only tri-services ceremony of its kind in the country.

Lt Gen B K Chopra, PVSM, AVSM, PHS, Director General, Armed Forces Medical Services and Senior Colonel Commandant, AMC, Lt Gen Bipin Rawat, UYSM, AVSM, YSM, SM, VSM, General Officer Commanding in Chief, Southern Command and a galaxy of senior serving and retired officers of all three services and the civil administration are expected to attend the ceremony. The parade will be commanded by Medical Cadet Shivank of X2 Batch.

According to Lt Gen A K Nagpal, VSM, Director  & Commandant, AFMC, a total of 127 graduates of the College, including five students from foreign nations, passed the final MBBS examinations of MUHS in the winter session exam of 2015. Ninety seven medical graduates will be commissioned into AFMS. Eighty two graduates will be joining the Army, eight will be joining the Navy and seven will join the Air Force. The pro-rata distribution to the three services is based on vacancies in the three services and merit cum choice of the officer. The officers also expressed their choice for the nature of commission – namely Permanent and Short Service Commission. 49 officers of the graduating batch have been granted Permanent Commission and 48 have been given Short Service Commission.

Since 2008, the commissioning ceremony parade has been commanded by a newly commissioned officer. In 2016, seventy eight male officers and nineteen lady officers will join the Armed Forces Medical Services which is a unique tri-service organisation dedicated to the service of the Armed Forces and the nation. A total of 6258 medical graduates have passed out of AFMC since 1966. This year, medical graduates of AFMC are completing fifty years of service in AFMS.

Shri Manohar Parrikar will be commemorating this landmark event in AFMC, Pune on 31 Mar 2016. He will be the fourth Defence Minister of India to visit AFMC, after Shri V K Krishna Menon in 1956 and 1962, Shri K C Pant in 1987 and Shri George Fernandes in 1998.

The Commissioning ceremony will culminate with displays of Khukri Drill by a contingent of 1/9 Gorkha Rifles representing the Indian Army, Brass Band of INS Shivaji representing the Indian Navy and Air Warriors Drill team representing the Indian Air Force underscoring the tri-services affiliation of AFMS.

The Commissioning Ceremony will be followed by the Academic Awards Presentation Ceremony. This year, the prestigious “President’s Gold Medal” and “ Kalinga Trophy” will be awarded to Medical Cadet (Surg Sub Lt) Abir Mazumder. Twenty three trophies, prizes and medals, to recognize outstanding achievements in academics and all round performance by undergraduates will also be awarded by the DGAFMS.

Another highlight of the occasion will be a ‘Hobbies Exhibition’, where the creative talent of Medical Cadets in fine arts will be on display. The day will end with a Variety Entertainment Programme by the newly commissioned offices and a banquet in the Officers Mess.

AFMC has been consistently rated among top medical education institutions in the country by various surveys and has an impeccable academic track record. In the Maharashtra University Of Health Sciences (MUHS) examinations in Summer/Winter 2015 , students of AFMC scored a pass percentage of 100 per cent in I MBBS, 100 per cent in II MBBS, 100 per cent in III MBBS (Part – I) and 99.21 per cent in III MBBS (Part – II).

The institution has recently been re- accredited by NAAC with ‘A’ Grading and a CGPA of 3.66 out of a maximum 4, which is among the highest ever awarded to any institution in India. The college has been at the forefront of innovation in teaching methodology and has aClinical Skills Laboratory where simulators are being used to provide training to undergraduates, postgraduates and paramedical students in Basic and Advanced life support. Surgeries being performed in the Operation theatre are being shown live in Seminar Rooms. Through a dedicated E learning portal, all lectures are being uploaded by the faculty one day before they are taken, enabling students to access them anywhere in the campus, which is wi fi enabled. The Armed Forces DNA Repository has been established at AFMC, Pune in 2015.