A release issued by the Indian Medical Association has said that the approval to the draft National Medical Commission (NMC) Bill, 2017 by the Union Cabinet has “rendered another blow to the medical profession”. It said that the NMC Bill will “cripple the democratic functioning of the of the medical profession by making it completely answerable to the bureaucracy”.
Federal character
The Association has noted that the federal character of the Medical Council of India (MCI) is not found in the NMC. All the State governments have representation in MCI. Only five States in rotation will have representation in NMC as a result of which it will take two decades for a State to re-enter NMC.
The Cabinet has cleared the NMC Bill with a 25-member commission appointed by the Central Government. Of these members, 20 will be appointed by a search committee chaired by the Cabinet Secretary. Nomination will be done for 12 ex-officio and 6 part-time members. Three of these will be from disciplines such as management, law, medical ethics, health research, consumer or patient rights advocacy, science and technology, and economics. Only five will be elected by the registered medical practitioners from amongst themselves from such regional constituencies, said the Association.
‘Backdoor entry’
“In effect, it will resemble a situation where the whole parliament is getting dissolved in favour of 25 nominated Ministers by the President, with only five elected Members of Parliament, one from each zone of the country, with no powers to be re-elected. The chairperson, secretary, and members shall hold office for a term not exceeding four years and shall not be eligible for any extension or reappointment and will retire by age 70. This will lead to a possible backdoor entry of bureaucrats after retirement,” said IMA president K.K. Aggarwal.
