Not just Companies, Now Consortiums can also open Medical colleges: MCI Gazette

New Delhi: Soon private (not-for-profit) sector will be invited to play a greater role in the field of medical education, as the  Medical Council of India Board of Governors (MCI BOG) have now paved the way for not just private companies, but even consortiums of such organisations to set up and operate medical colleges

The Board of Governors in supersession of the Medical Council of India have decided to make amendments in the Establishment of Medical College Regulations, 1999 to this effect. These amendments are being made with the object of inviting greater participation from the private sector to come forward for establishing medical colleges and imparting high-quality medical education and training facilities to the students aspiring to become doctors without compromising the standards of medical education.

Recently , the Board of Governors in super-session of Medical Council of India in exercise of the powers conferred by Section 33 of the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956 (102 of 1956), and with the previous sanction of the Central Government, made the following Regulations to further amend the “Establishment of Medical College Regulations, 1999”, which have been recently notified through the official gazette

With the amendments changes have been incorporated to allow company and consortium to set up medical colleges

What Can Apply? What is a Consortium?

As per the amendments

“Consortium” means a group of not less than two eligible organizations, namely, Society / Trust / Company / University / Deemed University, but not more than four such organizations, who have entered into a Registered Memorandum of Understanding / Agreement for seeking permission of the Central Government / Board of Governors for setting up a medical college through the Consortium Leader. One of the eligible organization shall be the Consortium Leader while other organizations shall be Consortium Member(s).

“Consortium Leader” means the organization entitled to make application to the Central Government / Board of Governors for the purposes of establishment and running a new medical college with an annual turnover of not less than Rs.500 crores in the preceding Financial Year and have specifically allocated a minimum corporate budget of Rs.100 crores to be exclusively utilised for the said purpose.

“Consortium Member(s)” means the organization(s) who have entered into Registered Memorandum of Understanding / Agreement with the Consortium Leader for the purposes of establishment and running of a new medical college and each of such organisation(s) is individually having an annual turnover of not less than Rs.100 crores in the preceding Financial Year and have specifically allocated a minimum corporate budget of Rs.50 crores to be exclusively utilised for the said purpose.

What are the Conditions?

The amendment permits a Consortium to make an application for the establishment of the new medical college subject to the following conditions:

(i) The number of Members of the Consortium shall not be less than two eligible organizations and not more than four eligible organizations.

(ii) The Members of the Consortium shall enter into a Registered Memorandum of Understanding / Agreement specifying the terms and conditions of Memorandum of Understanding / Agreement and their respective responsibilities.

(iii) The Consortium Leader shall be entitled to make the application to the Central Government/Board of Governors/State Government/Affiliating University / Council and shall be the legal person with which the Central Government/Board of Governors/ State Government / Affiliating University / Council shall interact.

(iv) The minimum equity contributed by the Consortium Leader should not be less than 50% while that of the other members of the Consortium should not be less than 10% individually.

(v) The land should be owned and possessed by one of the Members of the Consortium and if on lease
should be for a period not less than thirty-three years, with provision for lease renewal. The Member(s) of the Consortium should be having a clear title over the land and it should be free from all encumbrances as also there should not be any legal proceeding pending in any Court of law in respect of the land or part thereof

(vi) The Hospital can be owned and possessed by one of the Member of the Consortium, however, in case of permission for establishment of Medical College is granted following conditions, should form integral part and parcel of the Registered Memorandum of Understanding / Agreement:-

(1) That the Registered Memorandum of Understanding / Agreement should specifically provide for a lock in period of ten years before which the Consortium Leader and Consortium Members cannot exit the Consortium. In the event, any member of the Consortium exits before the expiry of ten years then such member(s) shall be liable to make payment of a sumequivalent to four times of the equity held by it under the Registered Memorandum of Understanding / Agreement in the Consortium Fund. It shall be open for any member of the Consortium to exit Consortium after the expiry of ten years, however, the existing member of the Consortium will have to be replaced by some other organization (s) bringing in the equivalent equity held by the existing member and fulfilling the other conditions provided under the Regulations;

(2) That the Registered Memorandum of Understanding / Agreement should specifically provide that the Consortium cannot be dissolved under any circumstance till the time the students are studying in the medical college. In the event, the Consortium is dissolved while the students are still studying in the medical college or the medical college is closed down then each member of the Consortium, either jointly or severally, shall be liable to pay a sum of Rs. 100 crores as a penalty to the State Government in whose jurisdiction the medical college is situated.

(3) That the value of the Consortium Fund under the Registered Memorandum of Understanding / Agreement created for the purpose of the establishment of a new medical college shall not be less than 250 crores;

(4) That the Registered Memorandum of Understanding / Agreement should specifically provide that each member of the Consortium has to execute in favour of the Council separate Bank Guarantee(s) in accordance with their equity in the Consortium and the total amount of Bang Guarantee taken together shall be for a sum of Rs. 5 crores. The Council shall be entitled to encash in the event any of the members of the Consortium exits from the Consortium before the expiry of ten years.

(5) That the Medical College and Hospital should be on one single plot of land. In case, the Medical College and Hospital are on two pieces of land, then the requirement prescribed under the Regulation regarding land for the Medical College and Hospital should be met by the Consortium.

(6) That the hospital owned and managed by the Member of the Consortium should be minimum 300 bedded hospital with necessary infrastructural facilities capable of being developed into a teaching institution situated on a plot of land having an area not less than prescribed under the Regulations. The medical college shall provide free transportation facilities for students and staff. The said hospital would be on one piece of the land and the building of the college including library and hostel for the students/interns, PGs/Residents, nurses may be housed on any of the two pieces of land.

(7) The Consortium shall ensure that the 300 bedded Hospital is utilized solely for the teaching and training of students and that such Hospital is upgraded in accordance with the requirement of Regulations.

(8) The hospital must be suitably altered through appropriate modifications into a teaching hospital specially with reference to the break up of the 300 beds into 120 beds for Surgical Specialties, 120 for Medical Specialties and 60 for Obstetrics & Gynecology and also capable of forming clinical units of 30 beds each with required ward size, teaching and training space and other prescribed requirements as per the governing regulations before the application is made by the applicant for starting the new medical college.

(9) The hospital should have all the feasibility for it being periodically upgraded including the augmentation of the number of beds and commensurate teaching units and teaching compliment as prescribed by the Governing Regulations with respect to the permitted annual intake for the college of 50/100/150/200/250 as the case may be.

(10) The personnel working in the said hospital, technicians, paraclinical staff including nurses and the menial staff, if transferred to medical college, upon their transfer shall be under the administrative control of the Dean of the Medical College ensuring that there is no “duality” of administrative control of any type.

(11) The administrative control so envisaged would include “Academic”, “Clinical” and “Financial” aspects as well.

(12) The clinical staff working at the said hospital other than those who conform to the prescribed eligibility for being designated as Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, Professor of the concerned subject, as the case may be prescribed by the Teachers’ Eligibility Qualification Regulations will have to be replaced by the full time appointment of the requisite number of duly qualified full time medical teachers, such replacement will not apply to non-teaching position like Casualty Medical Officer, Hospital Administrators, etc. in accordance with the prescribed requirements under the governing Regulations. In order to ensure that the binding operational dictum that “teaching physician has to be the treating physician” meaning thereby that the “treating” personnel would be the one who would be the “teaching” personnel.”

(vii) The Essentiality Certificate to be granted by the concerned State Government shall specify the fulfilment of the conditions mentioned in sub-clause (vi)(1) to (3) above.

(viii) The Consortium granted LOP for the establishment of Medical College shall not indulge in the commercialization of the medical college.

Higher Guarantees

The notification also calls for a higher bank guarantee to be submitted by the consortium to operate a medical college.

 In addition to the Bank Guarantees to be submitted by the individual members of the Consortium to the Council under the Registered Memorandum of Understanding / Agreement, the Consortium has to submit a Performance Bank Guarantee of double the amount prescribed for a non-governmental entity establishing a Medical College for the permitted intake capacity.

http://egazette.nic.in/WriteReadData/2019/203925.pdf