President Ram Nath Kovind signed an ordinance on Wednesday (26 September) to set up a committee to run the Medical Council of India (MCI), India Today has reported. This arrangement will continue till the parliament passes the bill to replace the body with a new commission, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said.

The ordinance was cleared in a Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi this morning (26 September), Jaitley said.

Since term of the MCI's elected body is ending soon, Jaitley said, a need was felt for it to be run by a committee of eminent individuals. The Board of Governors includes Niti Aayog member Dr V K Paul and AIIMS Director Randeep Gul.

National Medical Commission (NMC) Bill 2017 to replace the Council with a National Medical Commission is pending in Parliament.

Former Niti Aayog Chairman Professor Arvind Panagariya, who advocated the overhaul of regulatory architecture in medic education, welcome the move.