Dr M Ayyappan has been given another extension as the chairman and managing director of public sector healthcare company HLL Lifecare Ltd. under the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

Dr Ayyappan, who began his stint with Kerala-based HLL in 1991 as Marketing Manager, became its Managing Director in 2003. Two years later, in 2005, he became the CMD of the HLL, which has now evolved as a leading healthcare company from being just a contraceptive manufacturer.

“Under the stewardship of Dr Ayyappan, HLL Lifecare (formerly known as Hindustan Latex), a condom-manufacturer in the country, has become a healthcare behemoth and the sole PSU of its kind that has successfully forayed into areas like infrastructure development, consultancy, healthcare products, medical devices, healthcare treatment, blood bags, diagnostic services and vaccines,” a company release said here.

“My mandate will be to continue the social interventions that HLL is making and make sure that the healthcare delivery system in our country becomes affordable to the underserved population,” Dr Ayyappan said, reacting to his extension.

HLL got upgraded to a schedule B and mini-Ratna company, clocking rapid growth since 2003-2004 and doing business worth Rs.1131 crore in 2012-13 -- a growth of 35 per cent in its turnover and profitability as compared to the previous year.

HLL has successfully diversified into several fields -- manufacture of female condoms, rapid diagnostic test kits, pharma products and sanitary napkins, apart from launching of a diagnostic chain called Hindlabs, Merrygold health care franchising programme in Uttar Pradesh and joint venture with Acumen Fund to set up LifeSpring Hospitals.