National Medical Commission comes into force from September 25; MCI, BoG dissolved

The National Medical Commission will come into force from Friday repealing the nearly 64-year-old Indian Medical Council Act 1956. It will also dissolve all the bodies such as the Medical Council of India and the Board of Governors in Supersession of the MCI. As a result, the NMC will start to function effectively from Friday onwards to bring reforms in the medical education sector. The National Medical Commission Act 2019 was passed by both houses of Parliament in 2019.

4 autonomous boards under NMC Act constituted 

Dr Suresh Chandra Sharma, retired HoD, ENT, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi has been appointed as the Chairman of the NMC for a period of three years, said the gazette notification, while Dr Rakesh Kumar Vats, ex-Secretary General, Board of Governors - MCI has been appointed as the Secretary of the NMC for a period of three years.

Apart from the Chairman, the NMC will consist of 10 ex-officio members and 22 part-time members appointed by the Central government. To ensure transparency, the members will have to declare their assets at the time of joining and demitting the office along with declaring their professional and commercial engagement or involvement.

The four autonomous boards under the NMC Act -- the Under-Graduate Medical Education Board (UGMEB), Post-Graduate Medical Education Board (PGMEB), Medical Assessment and Rating Board and the Ethics and Medical Registration Board -- have also been constituted, according to the notifications issued by Nipun Vinayak, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Health on Thursday.

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'NMC act is progressive legislation'

"In pursuance of the provisions of sub-section (1) of section 60 of the National Medical Commission Act, 2019, the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956 is hereby repealed with effect from the 25th day of September 2020. "The Board of Governors appointed under section 3A of the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956 in supersession of the Medical Council of India constituted under sub-section (1) of section 3 of the said Act shall stand dissolved," one of the notifications read.

The Act, which seeks to usher in mega reforms in the medical education sector, received the assent of the president on August 8 and was published the same day.

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According to the Central government, the NMC Act is progressive legislation which will reduce the burden on students, ensure probity in medical education, bring down costs of medical education, simplify procedures, help to enhance the number of medical seats in India, ensure quality education, and provide wider access to people for quality healthcare. According to the government, the MCI had failed in almost all spheres and became highly ineffective.

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(With agency inputs)