Indian Medical Council (Amendment) Bill, 2019, was passed by a voice vote in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday which provides for supersession of Medical Council of India for a period of two years with effect from September 26, 2018.
The Bill was introduced by Health Minister Harsh Vardhan in the lower house to replace an ordinance promulgated on February 21 this year.
The government will soon come out with a National Medical Commission (NMC) Bill to usher in comprehensive reforms in the medical education sector, the minister said.
Calling the Bill the need of the hour, he said, “The Board of Governors, which had replaced the Medical Council of India, has worked well and taken a series of steps to improve medical education... It has granted accreditation to more number of medical colleges, increased number of seats and reduced procedural hurdles.”
The Bill will also allow for the increase in the number of members in the Board of Governors to 12 from the existing seven.
Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury opposed the ordinance route taken and said: “The MCI had become a scam-tainted authority. We oppose the ordinance route taken by the government to supersede the Indian Medical Council saying it was unhealthy for democracy.”
N.K. Premachandran of the RSP said the ordinance was unnecessary and that what was needed was now is a relook at the Medical Council. The council is ridden with corruption and this has to be stopped, he said.
The Union Minister noted that in the last two decades, a perception was built that the MCI has been unsuccessful in discharging its duties and that corrupt practices were are prevalent in the regulatory body.
“Although The National Medical Commission Bill could be introduced in the near future, but to have legal continuity every ordinance has to be converted into a law,” the minister said.
