New Medical Council, New Architectural Structure

With the government appointed panel, headed by the NITI Agog Chairman, recommending the abolishment of the current MCI and its subsequent replacement with the National Medical Commission, fresh new policy changes are coming into light.

Addressing the basic lacunaes in the previous IMC Act as well as lack of transparency in functioning of MCI, the National Medical Commission Bill 2016 has suggested that the apex medical regulator be broken down into independent bodies that would enhance efficiencies as well as transparency int he current system

Given the overwhelming sentiment in favour of a new institutional set up for regulation of medical education, the following architecture has been proposed:

Creation of National Medical Commission

The National Medical Commission (NMC) will be the policy-making body for medical education and shall comprise a Chairperson, nine ex-officio Members and ten part-time members. The Chairperson and 4 ex-officio members, who shall also be Presidents of the four autonomous Boards to be created under the overall umbrella of the NMC, shall be appointed by the Central Government through an open and transparent selection process. The Secretary heading the Secretariat of the Commission (see below) shall also be an ex-officio Member. The balance ex-officio members shall be nominated by the Central Government and represent the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Ministry of Rural Development and Department of Pharmaceuticals. Of the 10 part-time members, five will be appointed by the Central Government through open and transparent selection process and would be drawn from diverse backgrounds such as Law, Management, Economics, Consumer or Patient rights Advocacy, Science and Technology. The remaining five part-time members shall be selected from amongst the members of the Medical Advisory Council representing States on a rotational basis.