Everything You Need to Know About the National Medical Commission Bill, 2019

The National Medical Commission (NMC) Bill was signed off as law by the President of India, Ram Nath Kovind, in 2019, raising many controversial discussions and debates that led to question the motives behind such a drastic change in the prevalent body that oversaw medical education in India. The government has agreed to pass such a bill creating a hurricane in the medical field to create a more transparent medical education system. The new commission allegedly would produce a system of transparency that was desperately needed in the industry.

But, before we can decide the efficiency and debate over the concerns regarding the bill, let us understand what exactly the National Medical Commission Bill, 2019 is.

What is the National Medical Commission Bill, 2019?

National Medical Commission Bill, 2019, is set to drastically change the regulation system of medical education in Indi. The NMC would replace the existing Medical Council of India, according to the proposed clauses of the Bill. This would also be repealing the Indian Medical Council Act of 1956. Furthermore, the following proposals were made as a part of the National Medical Commission Act –

1. National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test (NEET) would be the only entrance/eligibility test for medical admissions in India, which also includes common counselling for all undergraduate and postgraduate super-specialty medical education
2. The introduction of a single exam which will be a combination of the final-year MBBS examination and postgraduate entrance examination called National Exit Test (NEXT). NEXT would be performing the following functions:-
   • It would be the MBBS licentiate examination.
   • It would be the post-graduation admission examination for broad-specialty medical courses
   • It would be the screening examination for foreign medical graduates.
3. The National Medical Commission would be responsible for the validation and application of NEET, Common Counselling, and NEXT for all Institutes of National Importance (INI), including institutions such as AIIMS.
4. The Commission would have the authority to regulate fees and other charges for 50% of the seats in private medical colleges and universities.

Functioning of the National Medical Commission

The National Medical Commission (NMC) is proposed to ensure optimum functioning of Indian medical education through the formation of four autonomous bodies.

1. Undergraduate Medical Education Board
   • To set standards and regulate under-graduate medical education in India.
2. 2Post Graduate Medical Education Board
   • To set standards and regulate post-graduate medical education in India.
3. 3Medical Assessment and Rating Board
   • To set up an assessment system for all the medical institutions in India.
   • To conduct inspections to ensure compliance of the set assessment system.
   • To issue warnings, impose penalties, stop admissions, or recommend withdrawal of recognition in instances of misconduct or negative assessment feedback.
   • To grant permission to set-up new medical institutions, to introduce new post-graduation courses, and to increase the number of seats in the institutions.
4. Ethics and Registration Board
   • To maintain a National Register with details of all licensed medical practitioners in India.

Furthermore, the Bill proposed to regulate the maintenance of all the websites of every medical institute and university in India to ease the process to access information by the NMC or any autonomous body.

It was also proposed to set-up a Medical Advisory Council which would be responsible for making timely recommendations to the NMC to improve its functions so as to improve the quality of Indian medical education. Also, under the new commission, the annual renewal of permissions by the medical institution would be stopped, thus, limiting their opportunity to seek permission to a singular event; for both the establishment and recognition.

Being a Medical Practitioner under the National Medical Commission

The National Medical Commission would bring about certain changes to the practicing rights of existing medical practitioners once the Bill has been implemented.

1. Any individual to clear the National Exit Test (NEXT) would be eligible for automatic inclusion in the National Register under the Ethics and Registration Board.
2. If an individual is already registered under the Indian Medical Register as per the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956, then these individuals would also be eligible for automatic inclusion into the National Register.
3. All foreign medical graduates, including those who are already licensed practitioners in the country and those who would appear for the screening, will have to take the National Exit Test (NEXT).
4. All individuals pursuing MBBS before the implementation of the NMC would be exempted from NEXT and would be included in the National Register as per the current procedure.

The nation still debates on the validation and importance of the bill along with its boons and banes, but the Bill has been passed by the Rajya Sabha with two proposed amendments. One would only understand the extent of the effect of the Bill after its proper implementation.