Ministry of Health directs states for fresh elections of Medical Council of India

the oversight committee comprising five members had resigned last week after their tenure of one year ended 

New Delhi: The Health Ministry has written to states to start the process of electing new members to the Medical Council of India as the tenure of most of the members is coming to an end in November.

The National Medical Commission Bill 2017, which seeks to replace the Medical Council of India (MCI), is yet to be enacted by the Parliament.

According to a senior Health Ministry official, the states have been asked to start the process of electing new members to the council as the tenure of most of the members is coming to an end in November.

Also, an oversight committee comprising five members had resigned last week after their tenure of one year ended. They had complained that the MCI did not extend support and they were dissatisfied with its functioning.

The council was heavily criticised by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health for failing to fulfil any of its mandates.

Following recommendations of the committee, in March, the Union Health Ministry had approved amendments to the NMC Bill, including removing the contentious provision of "bridge course", which would have allowed practitioners of alternative medicines to pursue allopathy, after stiff resistance from the IMA and the opposition.

The Bill was then sent to the Cabinet and after its approval to Parliament.

The Health Ministry had replaced the provisions of the National Licentiate Examination with a 'Common Final Year MBBS Exam'.

It also replaced the term National Licentiate Examination (NLE) with the National Exit Test (NEXT).

The ministry had also amended a section to provide for a uniform National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) and counselling at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

Stating that the proposed NLE would put "undue stress" on students, a parliamentary standing committee had recommended that the examination be integrated with the final year MBBS examination and be conducted "at the state-level".