National Medical Commission bill to be biggest reform: Vardhan

Genuine concerns over the National Medical Commission Bill have been addressed and the legislation will be one of the biggest reforms, Union minister Harsh Vardhan said in Lok Sabha on Monday.

The bill would replace the 63-year-old Medical Council of India (MCI) with the commission to reform the medical education sector.

It also seeks to repeal the Indian Medical Council Act 1956, stating that the council that was set up was corrupt. It has been alleged that the process by which the MCI regulated medical colleges was flawed.

Moving the bill for consideration in Lok Sabha, Vardhan said it seeks to put in place a new structure to tackle challenges in the medical education sector.

Asserting that the bill is a pro-poor legislation, he said it would bring not only government seats but also 50 per cent of all private seats within the reach of meritorious students belonging to economically weaker sections.

The Minister of Health and Family Welfare sought to assure that genuine concerns of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) have been addressed.

"When history will be written... it (bill) will go down as one of the biggest reforms," he noted.

Participating in the discussion, Congress member Vincent Pala, who opposed the bill, criticised the proposal to "replace elected members with nominated members" on the Medical Council Board