Medical Council of India


The Medical Council of India is a statutory body for establishing uniform and high standards of medical education in India till formation of National Medical Commission. The Council grants recognition of medical qualifications, gives accreditation to medical schools, grants registration to medical practitioners, and monitors medical practice in India. The current President of MCI is Dr. Jayshreeben Mehta.
Now the Supreme Court has allowed the Central Government to replace the medical council and with the help of five specialized doctors monitor the medical education system in India, from July 2017.
The NITI Aayog has recommended the replacement of Medical Council of India with National Medical Commission. The decision has been approved by most states and after its approval by the Prime Minister and NMC bill was passed by parliament and approved by President on 8 August 2019.
Once the National Medical Commission comes into being, the Medical Council of India will automatically get dissolved and the nearly 63-year-old Indian Medical Council Act will stand 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.
Following this, the Council was superseded by the President of India and its functions entrusted to a Board of Governors. The present Board of Governors was notified on 13 May 2011.
Again vide Govt. of India notification, the Council re-constituted and functioning currently.

Replenishment by NMC

National Medical Commission ordinance was brought in to replace Medical Council of India early this year through an ordinance issued in January, 2019 by the President of India. Now to replace replacing MCI a National Medical Commission Bill will be re-introduced in the coming session of Lok Sabha starting 17 June 2019. An ordinance to allow a committee run the Medical Council of India had been re-issued in January 2019, as a bill was pass in locksabha in 30 July and rajyasabha in 1 August and as, a bill to convert an earlier ordinance into a law is awaiting for President's approval.
The Supreme Court had allowed the Central Government to replace the medical council and with the help of five specialized doctors monitor the medical education system in India, from July 2017.
The planning commission has recommended the replacement of Medical Council of India with National Medical Commission. The decision has been approved by most states and after its approval by the Prime Minister it was to be proposed as final bill in the parliamentary sessions.

Functions of the council

The main functions of the Medical Council of India are as follows:
During the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, the Medical Council of India made necessary guidelines for the telemedicine in India which was unethical till now. These regulations helped patients to consult their doctors during the pandemic without the need to visit the hospital

Controversy

The MCI was dissolved by the President of India on 15 May 2010 following the arrest of MCI's president Ketan Desai by the CBI on 22 April 2010. Desai, alleged middle-man J. P. Singh and doctors Sukhwinder Singh and Kanwaljit Singh have been booked under the Prevention of Corruption Act. 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.
Ketan 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. He was immediately removed from the Medical council and his registration cancelled.

State Medical Councils

Punjab Medical Council
Medical Council of India
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" is the portal of the Medical Council of India for online processing of applications for registration and for professional certificates. "MCI Online" also provides online search of the Indian Medical Register. Medical Council of India has been superseded vide Indian Medical Council Ordinance, 2018 dated 26.09.2018, by the Board of Governors. The Board of Governors has taken over functions of the Medical Council of India on 26.09.2018 AN.

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