NATIONAL
MEDICAL COMMISSION – POLITY
News: National Medical Commission’s latest
order on seat allocation viewed as unfair to southern States
What's
in the news?
●
The National Medical Commission’s (NMC)
decision to allow and allocate medical education seats according to the
population of a State or Union Territory is turning into a southern States
versus the Centre debate on the freedom to provide healthcare and education to
people. The order comes into effect from the next academic year.
Key
takeaways:
●
The recommendation that colleges seeking
approval from the National Medical Commission should follow the ratio of 100 MBBS seats per 10 lakh
population will punish States that have performed well on this front and
undermine federalism in healthcare, say doctors.
National
Medical Commission (NMC):
●
NMC has been constituted by an act of
Parliament known as National Medical
Commission Act, 2019.
●
It has replaced the Medical Council of India
(MCI), constituted under the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956.
Functions:
●
NMC regulates
medical education and medical professionals.
●
The Commission grants recognition of medical qualifications, gives accreditation to
medical schools, grants registration to medical practitioners, monitors medical
practice and assesses the medical infrastructure in India.
Headquarters:
New Delhi
Organisational
structure of NMC:
●
It consists of 33 members including Chairman (medical professionals only), 10 ex-officio
members and 22 part time members.
Medical
Advisory Council:
●
It provides the platform through which the
states or UTs can put forth their views and concerns before the NMC and advises
the NMC on measures to determine and maintain minimum standards of medical
education.
Four
Autonomous Boards:
●
Under-Graduate Medical Education Board
(sets norms for undergraduate (UG) courses)
●
Post-Graduate Medical Education Board
(sets norms for post-graduate courses)
●
Medical Assessment and Rating Board
(inspects and rates the medical education institutes)
●
Ethics and Medical Registration Board
(regulates professional conduct of the doctors and registers them).