NEW DELHI: Moving ahead with its plans to overhaul the regulation of medical education in India, the health ministry has circulated a Cabinet note on the draft National Medical Commission Bill-2016, proposing to revamp the Medical Council of India (MCI).The draft bill, based on recommendations from the Niti Aayog expert committee appointed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last year, proposes to establish the commission in place of MCI.It aims to reform the medical education sector which has been under scrutiny for corruption and unethical practices."We are awaiting comments from various ministries. There is in-principal approval on the draft. We hope to soon take it to the Cabinet for approval," a senior official said.The government has already introduced the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test for both undergraduate and postgraduate medical and dental admissions.Once the draft bill is approved by the Cabinet and passed as a law by Parliament, it will replace the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956 and create the commission as the main regulatory body for medical education.Under the proposed bill, the commission will be a body comprising a chairperson, nine ex-officio members and 10 part-time members who will be selected rather than elected. At present, members of MCI are elected members.The draft bill also proposes to have separate boards for regulating under graduate courses, post graduate, accreditation and assessment board and a board for registration of medical colleges as well as monitoring of ethics in the profession. Besides, it also proposes a Medical Advisory Council (MAC), with members from states who can be eminent professionals such as a professors from a medical colleges and the like. There will be two members from Union Territories. NMC members will also be its members and its role will be advisory.Last year, a high-level committee headed by Niti Aayog vice-chairman Arvind Panagariya had examined the issue of poor regulation of medical education by MCI and proposed replacing MCI with NMC.Besides Panagariya, the panel included Prime Minister's additional principal secretary P K Mishra, Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant and the Union health secretary.The committee was formed to suggest reforms in the IMC Act, 1956.The 92nd parliamentary committee on health had also raised concerns about the functioning of the MCI and called for reform of the medical education sector.