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.
By claiming that the Bill was the solution to end the existing corruption in the field of medicine, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tries to put the controversy and debates to rest. The government has agreed to pass such a bill creating a hurricane in the medical field to create a more transparent medical education system. According to the Prime Minister, the new commission would produce a system of transparency that was desperately needed in the industry.
The Medical Commission of India (MCI) has been replaced with the National Medical Commission after the Bill. The main objective of the new governing body is to regulate all aspects of medical education, institutions, and profession. However, the Bill is strongly opposed by many doctors claiming that the Bill sought to deteriorate medical education and would eventually result in the degradation of healthcare services in the country.
The Prime Minister had called to attention various concerns regarding the existing medical education system when the government was formed in 2014. In tackle this dilemma, Prime Minister Narendra Modi appointed a parliamentary committee which worked rigorously to come up with a plausible and bullet-proof plan-of-action. After an in-depth study, the committee presented an overview of the current state of affairs in the medical education sector. It came to the attention of the committee that the current system was mismanaged, lacked transparency, and arbitrary. Furthermore, they were only the top of the list of problems that prevailed in the country’s medical education sector.
To address the growing concern of the health of the citizens of India and its youth, the government decided to pass the National Medical Commission Bill in 2019 as a solution. This was done after careful research, debate, and deliberation.
The Prime Minister added for the benefit of his fellow citizens that the Bill was drafted based on the recommendations and suggestions of an expert committee which was formed solely for this purpose. After studying the existing system in detail, the committee identified the various problems that was prevalent in the system while also identifying the various sectors that required improvement.
He also informed the citizens of the expected benefits of the Bill. The Bill is structured with multiple reforms that can curb avenues of corruption and can boost transparency.
The Bill is created to ensure transparency, and accountability in the governance of medical education in India. It is expected to increase the number of medical seats and decrease the cost of medical education while also decreasing the burden on medical students.
These parameters are set to ensure that talented youth are provided with the opportunity and resources to take up medicine as a profession which, ultimately, increase the number of medical professionals in the country. As a result, the demands for healthcare services due to lack of medical professionals in remote areas will be addressed.
The Prime Minister has reassured the citizens with a promise to establish one medical college between every three districts. And concluded claiming the existence of a clear and transparent road map of the government which would lead the country to an accessible and affordable medical education system that as a result would provide better healthcare outcomes.
