Govt plans to amend medical council Bill

Some stakeholders want power to be given to states

The central government plans to amend the Medical Council of India (MCI) Bill, to be renamed the National Medical Commission (NMC) Bill.

Government sources told Business Standard 15,000 suggestions had been made. Largely, states are asking for more powers. Further, some states want a higher number of regulated seats, in terms of fees. NITI Aayog had recommended 40 per cent of seats be regulated.

The proposed NMC will become the main regulatory body, replacing the MCI. The new body will have eminent doctors and experts to steer medical education. There will be around 20 members, for a five-year tenure, with some from other fields such as economics and law.

It will have four boards — a graduate medical board, postgraduate medical board, accreditation and assessment board and one for registration of medical colleges, as well as monitoring of ethics in the profession.

A health ministry source said the final draft should be ready in about a month. NITI Aayog will have another round of discussion with stakeholders, before the final draft.

Medical device makers given time to register

In a meeting held in the Capital on Thursday, the government assured medical devices industry that equipment like scanners and feeding tubes will not be notified.

Further the government has agreed to not notify any further medical devices, without giving manufacturers enough time to register their products. Notifying medical devices means they will be subject to stringent checks with the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization.