Medical Council of India abolished, new regulator for medical education constituted

New Delhi: The National Medical Commission (NMC) has come into existence from today, taking over country’s apex regulator of medical education of the country. This comes after the abolition of Medical Council of India (MCI).

The Indian Medical Council Act, 1956 stands repealed and the Board of Governors appointed in supersession of the Medical Council of India has also been dissolved, said the Union Health Ministry.

Former head of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences ENT department, Dr Suresh Chandra Sharma has been appointed as chairman for 3 years with effect from Friday, while Rakesh Kumar Vats, who was Secretary General in the Board of Governors of the MCI, has been appointed as the secretary of the commission.

Terming it as historic reform in the field of medical education, the Health Ministry on Friday informed that the much-awaited National Medical Commission (NMC), along with four Autonomous Boards have been made effective by the Central government.

Along with NMC, the four Autonomous Boards of UG and PG Medical Education Boards, Medical Assessment and Rating Board, and Ethics and Medical Registration Board have also been constituted to help the NMC in day to day functioning, informed the government.

The NMC comprises a chairman, 10 ex-officio members and 22 part-time members. The ex-officio members include presidents of the four autonomous boards.

According to the government, the NMC will carry forward the reforms initiated by the Board of Governors under Dr V K Paul.

Already the number of MBBS seats has been increased over the last six years by 48 per cent from around 54000 in 2014 to 80,000 in 2020. The PG seats have increased by 79 per cent from 24000 to 54000 in the same duration, they informed, health ministry.

It may be recalled that the National Medical Commission Act, 2019 was passed by the Parliament in August, 2019.