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The NMC Bill had been put before the Parliament twice but had not been passed
New Delhi, September 27, 2018 :
The Niti Aayog had always wanted to change the structure of MCI for long. However, it was getting postponed either by pressure from the medical community including IMA or by the opposition political parties.
The NMC Bill had been put before the Parliament twice but had not been passed. It may not get passed in the November (winter) session too. After that it will be National election time.
The bureaucracy is very adamant in making this change. The term of the MCI was getting over on 5th November. If the govt. had started the MCI re-election period, this would mean being elected for five years.
The Supreme Court had already consented to an overarching control of a 5-member committee. So, the best way for the government was to not continue with the MCI beyond 5th November and run it with a 5-7 member Board of Governors as the Congress had done in the past with the same members who had been running it for the last one year with additional two members.
Most of these members nominated to the Board of Governors have proven integrity. Dr Sanjay Shrivastava, who has been appointed the Secretary General has a wide experience of the MCI. The whole procedure has been advanced by one month with an idea that by the time the next parliament sits, they will have had enough time to adjust.
The government is hoping to get the NMC Bill passed in November. If not, continue with the Board of Governors for the next one year.Till the NMC comes, the present infrastructure and staff of MCI continues.
The author of this article is Dr K K Aggarwal, President HCFI
