ICMR, public face of India's Covid response, comes under fire from experts

State-funded research group is accused of making questionable decisions on medicines and lack of transparency in its work

For a century, the Indian Council of Medical Research was a little known government body quietly studying illnesses in New Delhi. But during the pandemic, it’s taken on a role akin to Anthony Fauci’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in the U.S. -- a powerful position that’s made it a controversial face of India’s struggles with Covid-19.

As the ICMR has acted as a key medical adviser to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his health ministry, it’s increasingly drawn criticism from the nation’s doctors and independent scientists, who have questioned its drug recommendations and the group’s lack of transparency