Ordinance to Supercede Medical Council of India Gets President's Nod

President Ram Nath Kovind and Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley have signed an ordinance seeking to replace the existing body running the Medical Council of India (MCI).

An ordinance seeking to replace the existing body running the Medical Council of India (MCI) with a government-appointed committee has been signed by President Ram Nath Kovind and Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

"In a Cabinet //meeting, a proposal was made to the President, which he has signed its purpose is to replace the existing body and allow it to be run by a committee composed of eminent persons," Jaitley said.

Medical Council of India Plans to Catch Ghost Faculty In Medical Colleges
The project was mainly conceptualized to address complaints of ‘ghost faculty’ who were arranged by medical colleges during scheduled inspections by MCI teams.

‘Ordinance, 2018 (Ordinance 8 of 2018) came into force on the said date, 26th September, 2018.’

The committee or the 'Board of Governors' has now been appointed by the government in "supersession of the MCI".

The Board members include persons of eminence in the medical field: Dr V.K. Paul, member, NITI Aayog, Dr Randeep Guleria, Director, AIIMS, New Delhi, Dr Jagat Ram, Director, PGIMER, Chandigarh, Dr B N Gangadhar, Director, NIMHANS, Bangalore, Dr Nikhil Tandon, Professor, Department of Endocrinology & Metabolism, AIIMS, New Delhi, who were the members of second Oversight Committee.

Dr S. Venkatesh, DGHS and Professor Balram Bhargava, Secretary, DHR and Director General ICMR will be the ex-officio members," the government said in a statement.

Medical Council of India Recommends Union Health Ministry To Approve 14 New Medical Colleges
The Medical council of India plans to increase medical seats to ensure a doctor-patient ratio of 1:1000 as against the current 1:2000 ratio.

A bill to replace the MCI with a National Medical Commission (NMC) has already been presented in Parliament. A parliamentary standing committee has also made its recommendations, but due to time factor the bill "has gone into an area of uncertainty", Jaitley said.

Pending Parliament's approval to the bill, the government has chosen to go for the ordinance since the term of the existing committee running the MCI ends in November.

Medical Council of India Rejects Proposal for Extra MBBS Seats
The MCI has refused a demand from Coimbatore Medical College Hospital for adding 100 more seats due to lack of faculty, improper documentation and facilities.

In 2016, a committee to oversee the working of MCI was formed by the government at the direction of the Supreme Court, whose term expired in 2017. Another committee was then formed for the same purpose for another year.

"On July 6, 2018, Oversight Commitee (OC) cited instances of non-compliance of their instructions by MCI and said MCI has not only misinterpreted orders of the Supreme Court but has also challenged the authority of the OC. Subsequently all members of OC have resigned," the government said.

Medical Council of India Needs a Revamp
The parliamentary standing committee on health said the Medical Council of India had become a biased Organization acting against larger public health goals.

"In such circumstances when the Supreme Court-mandated Oversight Committee is unable to function due to non-cooperation of MCI and the NMC Bill is pending in Parliament and its passage is likely to take some time, certain immediate steps are required to be taken," it said in support of its decision to go for the ordinance.

Source-IANS