Commission bill during the current session. What are the main features of this
bill and why are doctors across the country protesting against this
legislation? Here is an explainer. On Monday, 29 July 2019, the Lok Sabha passed the National Medical Commission Bill. Even though it was initially tabled in the Lok Sabha in December 2017,it faced stiff opposition and was then sent for scrutiny to the parliamentary standing committee of Health andFamily Welfare. The standing committeesubmitted its report in March 2018. The Bill finally lapsed with the culminationof the first term of the NDA Government (2014 to 2019). The Bill was againtabled by the Union Health Minister, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, in the current LokSabha following the resounding victory of NDA and was later passed. The Bill wasthen approved in the Rajya Sabha on 01 August 2019. The passing of the billsparked widespread protests by the medical fraternity. But why is the medicalfraternity protesting? We try to explore the pros and cons of the bill in thisstory. This bill annuls the Indian Medical Council Act of 1956 and was introduced with an objective to make quality medical educationmore accessible and affordable. It also aims to attain universal healthcoverage by making healthcare equitable. Further, adoption of latest technologyfor medical research and conducting periodic and transparent assessment ofmedical institutions are also a part of the objectives. 25 Member National Medical Commission will replace the Medical Council of India As per the bill, a 25 member National Medical Commission (NMC) will besuperseding the Medical Council of India (MCI) to regulate the medicaleducation in India and the profession. MCI was tainted with scams and there were charges of corruption pressed against its members. The MCI had also been accused of not beingtransparent. It was later dismissed and replaced by a Board of Governorsappointed by the Union Government. The members of NMC will be appointed by theUnion Government on the basis of the criterion listed in the bill. The membersof the NMC should also declare their list of assets and liabilities at the timeof taking charge and at the time of leaving the office. A Medical AdvisoryCouncil will also be set up as a part of this bill which will then function asthe primary platform for representation of States and Union Territories andalso make recommendations to the NMC. NEET and NEXT are two important examinations proposed in the Bill The Bill also proposes two important exams-National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) and National Exit Test (NEXT).NEET shall serve as the common entrance test for admission to the undergraduate medical education in India. NEXT on the other hand is a common final year undergraduatemedical examination that will serve as the primary means for granting licenceto practice as medical practitioners and for enrolment in the State Register orthe National Register irrespective of the country from which the student hascleared their graduation. In other words, any person with a foreign medicalqualification also has to qualify NEXT for the purpose of obtaining licence topractice medicine instead of the Foreign Medical Graduates Examination (FMGE). NEXT will also be considered as thequalifying exam for postgraduate broad- speciality education while NEET will beconsidered for admission to post graduate super-speciality education. Further,it has also been mentioned in the bill that the NMC will frame guidelines forthe determination of fees for half of the seats in private medical colleges. Autonomous boards to recognize & monitor Medical Education In order to monitor medical education and practice, the Bill proposesthe recognition of four autonomous boards: Taking into consideration the recommendations made by theparliamentary standing committee, amendments were made to the bill that wasintroduced in 2017. One major amendment was the removal ofbridge course between AYUSH and Allopathy. Instead, the bill leaves it to the State Governments to take necessarymeasures for addressing and promoting primary health care in rural areas and toenhance the capacity of the healthcare professionals. Limited license given to Community Health Providers In order to make healthcare more accessible and to increase the number of medicalpractitioners, the bill has introduces ‘Community Health Providers’ (CHPs) whowill be given limited license to practice medicine. Regulations on the criteriafor selection of CHPs will be framed under this act. The number of CHPs shouldnot exceed one third of the total number of licensed medical practitioners inthe country.