The Medical Council of India (MCI) was a statutory body for establishing uniform and high standards of

medical education Medical education is education related to the practice of being a medical practitioner, including the initial training to become a physician (i.e., medical school and internship (medical), internship) and additional training thereafter (e.g., Re ...

in India until its dissolution on 25 September 2020 when it was replaced by

National Medical Commission National Medical Commission (NMC) is an Indian regulatory body of 33 members which regulates medical education and medical professionals. It replaced the Medical Council of India on 25 September 2020. The Commission grants recognition of medic ...

. The Council granted recognition of medical qualifications, gave

accreditation Accreditation is the independent, third-party evaluation of a conformity assessment body (such as certification body, inspection body or laboratory) against recognised standards, conveying formal demonstration of its impartiality and competence to ...

medical school A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, or part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS, M ...

s, granted registration to medical practitioners, and monitored medical practice in India. The MCI faced persistent criticism for

corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...

. The

Supreme Court of India The Supreme Court of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme judicial authority of India and is the highest court of the Republic of India under the constitution. It is the most senior constitutional court, has the final decision in all legal matters ...

authorized the Central Government to replace the medical council and to monitor the medical education system in India with the help of five specialized doctors from July 2017. The

NITI Aayog The NITI Aayog (; abbreviation for National Institution for Transforming India) serves as the apex public policy think tank of the Government of India, and the nodal agency tasked with catalyzing economic development, and fostering cooperative ...

recommended the replacement of Medical Council of India (MCI) with National Medical Commission (NMC). First approved by most states, followed by the Prime Minister, the NMC bill was passed into law by parliament and approved by the president on 8 August 2019. Once the National Medical Commission came into being on 25 September 2020, the 87-year old Medical Council of India was automatically dissolved and the Indian Medical Council Act stood abolished.

History

The Medical Council of India was first established in 1934 under the Indian Medical Council Act, 1933. The council was later reconstituted under the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956 that replaced the earlier Act. The Council granted recognition of medical qualifications, gave

s, granted registration to medical

practitioner Practitioner may refer to: *Health practitioner *Justice and public safety practitioner * Legal practitioner * Medical practitioner *Mental health professional or practitioner *Theatre practitioner Spiritual Practitioner * Solitary practitioner ...

s, and monitored

medical practice Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care practic ...

in India. The MCI faced persistent criticism for corruption. The growth of privately run medical colleges, starting in the 1980s, presented a major regulatory challenge for the MCI. ''

Frontline Front line refers to the forward-most forces on a battlefield. Front line, front lines or variants may also refer to: Books and publications * ''Front Lines'' (novel), young adult historical novel by American author Michael Grant * ''Frontlines ...

'' reported that corruption in the MCI was exacerbated by the amendment of 1993 (Section 10A) that gave powers to the MCI to endorse or decline the establishment of new colleges and courses in India. After 1993, the MCI neglected to maintain the Indian Medical Register (IMR) of registered medical practitioners in the country. Author Sanjeev Kelkar writes that the election process of the MCI was faulty since "those who are to be regulated get elected as the regulator." In 2001, the Dehli High Court ordered the removal of the MCI president Ketan Desai after concluding that the organization suffered from a high level of

with Desai found guilty of corruption and

abuse of power Abuse is the improper usage or treatment of a thing, often to unfairly or improperly gain benefit. Abuse can come in many forms, such as: physical or verbal maltreatment, injury, assault, violation, rape, unjust practices, crimes, or other t ...

. Desai returned to the MCI in 2007 and was again appointed president in 2009. The MCI was dissolved by the

President of India The president of India ( IAST: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. Droupadi Murmu ...

on 15 May 2010 following the arrest of MCI's president Ketan Desai by the

Central Bureau of Investigation The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is the premier investigating agency of India. It operates under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions. Originally set up to investigate bribery and governmen ...

(CBI) on 22 April 2010. Desai, alleged middle-man J. P. Singh and doctors Sukhwinder Singh and Kanwaljit Singh, were booked under the

Prevention of Corruption Act Prevention of Corruption Act (with its variations) is a stock short title used for legislation in India, Malaysia and the United Kingdom relating to corruption and bribery. The Bill for an Act with this short title will have been known as a Prevent ...

. The CBI recovered 1.5 kg of gold and 80 kg of silver from Desai's premises. Further, gold worth ₨ 35 lakhs were recovered from Desai's bank lockers in Ahmedabad. Desai, the head of urology at B J Medical College and president of the Gujarat Medical Council was caught by the CBI for accepting a bribe of 2 crores to grant recognition to a private college. Desai was removed from the MCI and his registration cancelled. The council was superseded by the President of India and its functions entrusted to a Board of Governors, notified on 13 May 2011. The MCI was reconstituted on 6 November 2013.

Replacement by NMC

The NITI Ayogg, an Indian government think tank, presented a draft towards a new National Medical Commission in 2016. Restructuring and reforming the MCI was also the subject of a 2017 report that was part of the Brookings India Impact Series. The

authorized the Central Government to replace the MCI and to utilize a team of five specialized doctors to monitor the nation's medical education system, from July 2017. The

Central Information Commission The Central Information Commission is a statutory body, set up under the Right to Information Act in 2005 under the Government of India to act upon complaints from those individuals who have not been able to submit information requests to a Cent ...

stated that the MCI had failed to disclose requested meeting notes and membership records surrounding the suspension records of Desai in 2017, and would not furnish the requested qualifications of professors and doctors who inspected medical colleges for the MCI since 2013. The government of India issued an ordinance on 26 September 2018 to divest the functions of the MCI and replace it with a seven member board of governors. The

(NMC) was brought in to replace Medical Council of India (MCI) through an ordinance issued in January, 2019 by the President of India. The National Medical Commission Bill was re-introduced in the

Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-past ...

on 22 July 2019. The bill was passed by the Lok Sabha on 30 July 2019 and by the

Rajya Sabha The Rajya Sabha, constitutionally the Council of States, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. , it has a maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legislatures of the states and union territories using si ...

on 1 August 2019. The National Medical Commission Act, 2019 came into force on 8 August 2019. On 25 September 2020 the MCI was dissolved and replaced by the National Medical Commission.

Functions of the council

The main functions of the MCI were listed as: * Establish and maintain uniform standards for undergraduate medical education. * Regulate postgraduate medical education in medical colleges accredited by it. (The

National Board of Examinations National Board of Examinations (NBE) is an autonomous body under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (India), Government of India, and established in 1975 at New Delhi as a Society under Delhi Society registration act, to standardizing pos ...

is another statutory body for postgraduate medical education in India). * Recognition of medical qualifications granted by University or UGC in medical institutions in India. * Recognition of foreign medical qualifications in India. * Accreditation of medical colleges. * Registration of doctors with recognized medical qualifications. The state medical councils maintained a register of doctors, forwarded quarterly to the national MCI. Foreign medical graduates could register directly. * Maintain a directory of all registered doctors (called the Indian Medical Register). *Amend, as needed, the regulation of medical education and practices.

Telemedicine

During the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

pandemic in March 2020, the Medical Council of India made necessary guidelines for the telemedicine in India which had previously been considered unethical. These regulations helped patients to consult their doctors during the pandemic without the need to visit the hospital.

State Medical Councils

Punjab Medical Council Bihar Medical Council Gujarat Medical Council Andhra Pradesh Medical Council Hyderabad Medical Council Maharashtra Medical Council Rajasthan Medical Council Travancore Cochin Medical Council, Trivandrum Vidharba Medical Council Assam Medical Council Mysore Medical Council Orissa Council of Medical Registration Bombay Medical Council Madhya Pradesh Medical Council West Bengal Medical Council Uttar Pradesh Medical Council Madras Medical Council Tamil Nadu Medical Council

MCI Online

"MCI Online" was the portal of the Medical Council of India for online processing of applications for registration (of medical qualifications) and for professional certificates. "MCI Online" also provided online search of the Indian Medical Register. Medical Council of India was superseded vide Indian Medical Council (Amendment) Ordinance, 2018 (Ordinance 8 of 2018) dated 26.09.2018, by the Board of Governors. The Board of Governors assumed the functions of the Medical Council of India on 26.09.2018 AN.

Awards

Dr. B. C. Roy Awards The Bidhan Chandra Roy Award was instituted in 1962 in memory of B. C. Roy, Dr. B. C. Roy by the Medical Council of India. It is presented by the President of India in New Delhi every year on July 1, National Doctors' Day. It is also the highest ...

: Dr. B.C. Roy National Award Fund was instituted in 1962 to perpetuate his memory. The Award was presented to a distinguished medical person in each of the categories of Statesmanship of the Highest Order in our country, Medical man-cum-Statesman, Eminent Medical Person, Eminent person in Philosophy and Eminent person in Arts. * Hari Om Ashram Award: Hari Om Ashram Alembic Research Award Fund accepted nominations for Hari Om Ashram Alembic Research Awards under the categories of Basic Research in Medical Sciences, Clinical Research and Operational Research. * Silver Jubilee Award: Silver Jubilee Research Award Fund was available to individuals for original and outstanding work in the field of medical and allied science in India. The award also provided aid or assistance for projects in medical institutions engaged in education, for research, and to support travel fellowship.

References

{{authority control College accreditors in India Medical associations based in India Medical education in India Organisations based in Delhi Regulatory agencies of India Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Organizations established in 1933 1933 establishments in India Medical and health regulators Medical regulation in India 2020 disestablishments in India