The new commission’s responsibilities will include, approving and assessing medical colleges, conducting a common entrance for MBBS courses and regulating course fees
India’s Union Cabinet on July 17, 2019, reportedly cleared a bill to set up a National Medical Commission (NMC).
The commission will fill the gap left by the dissolution of Medical Council of India in 2010 on charges of corruption, the media reported.
The new commission’s responsibilities will include, approving and assessing medical colleges, conducting a common entrance for MBBS courses and regulating course fees.
The bill approved the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET). It also put forward a common final year MBBS exam — National Exit Test (NEXT).
NEXT will also apply to institutes of national importance like the All India Institutes of Medical Sciences to ensure uniform standards. It will make students eligible to start a medical practice and seek admissions to post-graduate courses.
NMC will regulate fees and all other charges for half the seats in private medical colleges and deemed universities. The bill, tabled in 2017, lapsed with the dissolution of the previous Lok Sabha and now will be tabled in the ongoing session.
A new Medical Assessment and Rating Board (MARB) under NMC will assess medical colleges and rank them to grant permission for new medical colleges, starting PG courses and increasing seats, says the official government statement.
The bill also proposes the Medical Advisory Council for states to put forward their views and concerns. The ministry has been pushing the NMC Bill amid resistance from the Indian Medical Association.
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