Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said, “Now this committee of most eminent doctors in the country will run the MCI.” (File photo) Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said, “Now this committee of most eminent doctors in the country will run the MCI.” (File photo)

The Union Cabinet Wednesday issued an ordinance to replace the Medical Council of India — the national medical education regulator — with a board of governors (BoG) comprising some of India’s best known government doctors. The BoG will run the MCI till the time a Bill, which seeks to replace the body with a new commission, is passed by Parliament.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that anything the MCI does will be through this committee. “The Cabinet cleared the ordinance in the morning and the President has given his assent,” he told reporters. “Now this committee of most eminent doctors in the country will run the MCI.”

The Board of Governors includes NITI Aayog member V K Paul, AIIMS, Delhi director Randeep Guleria, PGIMER, Chandigarh director Jagat Ram, NIMHANS, Bangalore director B N Gangadhar and Nikhil Tandon, professor, AIIMS Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism.

Director general health services S Venkatesh and director general ICMR Balram Bhargava will be the ex-officio members. Sources said all members of the board are eminently qualified and “apolitical”.

The BoG will continue to perform till a Council is constituted. A similar Board of Governors was also appointed in 2010. A Bill pending in Parliament seeks to replace the MCI with the National Medical Commission.

Amid allegations of corruption against MCI office bearers and probes into opaque accreditation to medical colleges, the Supreme Court had, in May 2016, directed the Centre to set up an oversight committee with the authority to oversee all statutory functions of the MCI till a new legislation is enacted. Several MCI members have been accused of accepting bribes to fast-track accreditation.

In 2017, another oversight committee was set up with the approval of the top court after the expiry of the one-year term of the first panel, said official sources.

The second committee was chaired by Dr V K Paul and included eminent doctors including those from AIIMS (Delhi), PGI Chandigarh and NIMHANS.

In July this year, the committee resigned citing instances of “non-compliance of their instructions by MCI”. The committee claimed that the MCI had also challenged its authority.

Sources said that in a scenario when the SC-appointed panel could not function and the bill to replace MCI awaiting parliamentary nod, certain “immediate steps” were needed.

The National Medical Commission Bill pending in Parliament provides for simplification of procedures and is expected to spur rapid growth in the number of undergraduate and post-graduate seats in the country besides enhancing the governance and quality of medical education, said sources. It also provides for distribution of functions among four autonomous boards whose members would be persons of proven ability selected through a transparent process.

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