Ordinance to Replace MCI

  • An ordinance was issued to allow a committee of eminent professionals run the scam-tainted Medical Council of India till a bill which seeks to replace the body with a new commission is passed by Parliament.

About:

  • The Cabinet cleared the ordinance and the President has given his assent. Now the committee of most eminent doctors in the country will run the MCI.
  • A Bill pending in Parliament seeks to replace the MCI with the National Medical Commission.
  • The Bill was taken up for consideration and was referred to Department related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health & Family Welfare for examination. The Parliamentary Standing Committee presented its 109th Report on the Bill to the House. The Ministry after examining the recommendations obtained approval of the Cabinet for moving official amendments. Thereafter, the Bill is pending in the Lok Sabha.
  • 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 Centre to set up an oversight committee with the authority to oversee all statutory functions of the MCI till a new legislation is enacted. Several MCI members have been accused of accepting bribes to fast-track accreditation.
  • When the SC-appointed panel could not function and the bill to replace MCI awaiting parliamentary nod, certain “immediate steps” were needed.
  • The Bill pending in Parliament provides for simplification of procedures and is expected to spur rapid growth in the number of undergraduate and post-graduate seats in the country besides enhancing the governance and quality of medical education.
  • In 2017, another oversight committee was set up with the approval of the top court after the expiry of the one-year term of the first panel.
  • The BoG will run the MCI till the time a Bill, which seeks to replace the body with a new commission, is passed by Parliament.
  • The Board of Governors includes NITI Aayog member V K Paul, AIIMS, Delhi director Randeep Guleria, PGIMER, Chandigarh director Jagat Ram, NIMHANS, Bangalore director B N Gangadhar and Nikhil Tandon, professor, AIIMS Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism.
  • All the BoG members are eminently qualified and apolitical. Further, five of the seven members were the members of the Supreme Court appointed Oversight Committee. It is expected that the BoG will bring about urgent and the much-required reforms in the field of medical education and promote access to quality healthcare for all the people of India.
  • It is aimed at bringing complete transparency in the medical education system. This will strengthen medical education in the country.
  • It is expected that the BoG will bring about urgent and much required reforms in the field of medical education.
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