Letters to the Editor

NMC Bill:

A long-awaited change

Union Health Minister JP dda introduced the tiol Medical  Commission (NMC) Bill in the Lok Sabha to replace the apex medical education regulator – Medical Council of India (MCI) with a new body to bring in more transparency in its functioning. The bill provider for constitution of four autonomous boards entrusted with conducting undergraduate and postgraduate medical education, assessment and accreditation of medical institutions and registration of practitioners under the NMC.

The NMC Bill will have a 25-member commission nomited by the Union Government. K K Aggarwal, the president of Indian Medical Association (IMA) said that the Bill will cripple democratic functioning of the medical profession by making it completely answerable to the bureaucracy. The NMC is devoid of federal character and is non-representation half non-medical body.

However, we believe, the Bill will bring a long-awaited change in Indian healthcare. The Bill seems to be student-friendly with clarity in fees and hassle-free for medical colleges with less regulations and ease of running the institutions. There will be one entry and one exit exam, which is good for medical students.

As the main concern in the Bill is about constitution of the commission with nomited members, care should be taken to nomite eminent members.

Satish Kumar Sarma,

Kalyanpur, Biswath Chariali.