india

Updated: Jul 18, 2019 01:31 IST

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the National Medical Commission Bill, 2019 that allows the setting up of a medical commission in place of the Medical Council of India (MCI) and the repeal of the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956.

The Bill is likely to be introduced in the current session of Parliament. It was first introduced in Parliament in December 2017, but lapsed with the dissolution of the 16th Lok Sabha.

According to the provisions of the Bill, the common final-year MBBS exam will be known as the National Exit Test (NEXT) and will act as the licentiate exam to practise medicine, as criteria for admission to post graduate (PG) medical courses and for screening foreign medical graduates.

The NEXT will also be applicable to institutes of national importance such as the All India Institutes of Medical Sciences in order to have a common standard in medical education in the country. The Bill proposes that the National Medical Commission will have four autonomous boards: under-graduate medical education board, post-graduate medical education board, medical assessment and rating board and ethics and medical registration board. The NMC and the boards will ensure a dynamic educational environment.