Breaking: Lok Sabha clears Indian Medical Council Ordinance Bill to supersede Medical Council of India

A separate bill to replace MCI with National Medical Commission is pending in Parliament. “This bill has been issued so that medical education can be regulated in best manner, as MCI turned out to be massive failure,” he said.

The Minister, while speaking on the bill, said the parliamentary panel on Health in its report also cautioned that any attempt to overhaul the medical regulatory system in the country will face huge challenges.

He suggested that government was forced to come up with this bill as the oversight committee formed by the government on suggestion of the Supreme Court resigned and the MCI could not function. Thereafter the government came with an ordinance.

Amid allegations of corruption against MCI office bearers and probes into opaque accreditation to medical colleges, the Supreme Court had in May 2016 directed the government to set up an oversight committee with the authority to oversee all statutory functions of MCI till the new legislation comes in.

Many of MCI members have been accused of taking bribes to fast-track accreditation.

In 2017, another Oversight Committee was set up with the approval of the Supreme Court after expiry of the one year term of the first panel. The second committee was chaired by Dr V K Paul and included eminent doctors including those from AIIMS (Delhi), PGI Chandigarh and NIMHANS.

Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that under the provisions of the bill, MCI’s affairs will be entrusted to a Board of Governors consisting of eminent doctors for a period of one year or until the said Council is reconstituted, whichever is earlier.

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