30-Jul-2021: Union Health Minister, Shri Mansukh Mandaviya chairs a review meeting with National Medical Commission (NMC)

The Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Shri Mansukh Mandaviya chaired a review meeting with the National Medical Commission today. Important issues of medical education were discussed in the meeting.

As apprised by officials of NMC in the meeting, efforts are underway to ensure that the National Exit Test ( NExT) will be conducted in the first half of 2023 as per the roadmap. To test the procedure and remove anxiety among medical students, a Mock Run is also being planned and will be conducted in 2022. It was also discussed that the results of NExT (Step 1 and 2) will then be used for

1. Qualifying Final M.B.B.S. Exam.
2. To get License to practice Modern Medicine in India.
3. For merit-based allocation of PG seats in Broad specialties.

During the review meeting, ways to make NExT an examination of  world-class standard was also discussed and deliberated.  The importance of the NExt Exam lies in the fact that it will be the same for everyone whether trained in India or any part of the world and hence it will solve the problem of foreign medical graduates (FMGs) / Mutual recognition. While addressing the meeting, Shri Mansukh Mandaviya emphasised that the Government of India is committed to creating quality medical education and transparent examination infrastructure and health services and is relentlessly working with all stakeholders to achieve this objective.

About National Medical Commission (NMC): NMC has been established by an Act of Parliament known as National Medical Commission Act, 2019 which came into force on 25.9.2020 with the objective of improving access to quality and affordable medical education, ensuring adequate and high-quality medical professionals in all parts of India and to provide equitable and universal health care.

Broad functions of NMC include laying down policies for maintaining a high quality and high standards in medical education and making necessary regulations; laying down policies for regulating medical institutions, medical researches and medical professionals; assessing the requirements in healthcare, including human resources for health and healthcare infrastructure and developing a road map for meeting such requirements; promoting, coordinating and framing guidelines and laying down policies by making necessary regulations for the proper functioning of the Commission, the Autonomous Boards and the State Medical Councils. It also ensures coordination among the Autonomous Boards.

NMC also acts as the appellate jurisdiction with respect to decisions of Autonomous Boards and lays down policies and codes to ensure observance of professional ethics in the medical profession and promotes ethical conduct during the provision of care by medical practitioners.

25-Sep-2020: National Medical Commission (NMC) constituted; Medical Council of India (MCI) stands abolished.

Historic reform in the field of medical education has been effected by the Union Government with the constitution of the National Medical Commission (NMC), along with four Autonomous Boards. With this, the decades old institution of the Medical Council of India (MCI) stands abolished. Along with NMC, the four Autonomous Boards of UG and PG Medical Education Boards, Medical Assessment and Rating Board, and Ethics and Medical Registration Board have also been constituted to help the NMC in day to day functioning.

This historic reform will steer medical education towards a transparent, qualitative and accountable system. The basic change that has happened is that the Regulator is now 'selected' on merits, as opposed to an 'elected' Regulator. Men and Women with impeccable integrity, professionalism, experience and stature have been now placed at the helm to steer the medical education reforms further.

The Notifications in this regard were issued late last night on the 24th September, 2020.

Dr S C Sharma (retd. Prof, ENT, AIIMS, Delhi) has been selected as the Chairperson for a period of three years. Besides the Chairperson, NMC will have 10 ex-officio members that include Presidents of the four Autonomous Boards, Dr. Jagat Ram, Director PGIMER, Chandigarh, Dr Rajendra A Badwe, Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai and Dr Surekha Kishore, Executive Director, AIIMS, Gorakhpur. In addition, NMC will have 10 nominees from Vice Chancellors of Health Universities from States/UTs, 9 nominees from State Medical Councils, and three expert members from diverse professions. Dr Smita Kolhe, a renowned social worker working in tribal Melaghat area of Maharashtra and Shri Santosh Kumar Kraleti, CEO, Foot Soldiers for Health Pvt Ltd have been nominated as these expert members. Dr R K Vats will head the Secretariat as Secretary of the NMC.

In addition to NMC, four Autonomous Boards have also been constituted and come into effect from today. The … Board will be chaired by ….. and will have …..The Commission has four Autonomous Boards, namely Under-Graduate Medical Education Board, Post-Graduate Medical Education Board, Medical Assessment and Rating Board and Ethics and Medical Registration Board to oversee UG/ PG education, accreditation and assessment and the matters related to ethics and professional conduct of doctors.

The NMC will carry forward the reforms initiated by the Board of Governors under Dr V K Paul. Already, number of MBBS seats has increased over the last six years by 48% from around 54000 in 2014 to 80,000 in 2020. The PG seats have increased by 79% from 24000 to 54000 in the same duration.

The key functions of the NMC will be further streamlining regulations, rating of institutions, HR assessment, focus on research. Besides they will work on modalities of the common final year exam after MBBS (NEXT- National Exit Test) to serve for both registration and PG entrance; prepare guidelines for fee regulation by private medical colleges; and developing standards for Community Health Providers to serve in primary healthcare with limited practicing licence.

It may be recalled that the National Medical Commission Act, 2019 was passed by the Parliament in August, 2019.

With the coming into effect of the NMC Act from 25th September, 2020, the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956 stands repealed and the Board of Governors appointed in supersession of Medical Council of India has also been dissolved with effect from the said date.

13-Feb-2018: It is now mandatory to qualify NEET to pursue foreign medical course

A common National Entrance Exam viz. National Eligibility cum Entrance Test has been made mandatory for admission to all medical courses in the country. Indian students can also pursue medical education abroad and have to qualify a Screening Test called Foreign Medical Graduates Exam (FMGE), for registration to practice in India after obtaining primary medical qualification (MBBS) overseas. It has come to notice that medical institutions / Universities of foreign countries admit Indian students without proper assessment or screening of the students’ academic ability to cope up with medical education with the result that many students fail to qualify the Screening Test.

In this regard, the proposal of Medical Council of India (MCI) to amend the Screening Test Regulations, 2002, making it mandatory to qualify NEET to pursue foreign medical course has been approved by this Ministry.

Thus, the Indian Citizens / Overseas Citizen of India intending to obtain primary medical qualification from any medical institution outside India, on or after May 2018, shall have to mandatorily qualify the NEET for admission to MBBS course abroad. The result of NEET shall be deemed to be treated as the Eligibility Certificate for such persons, provided that such persons fulfils the eligibility criteria for admission to the MBBS course prescribed in the Regulations on Graduate Medical Education, 1997.