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Finally, NCHRH Bill in queue for Cabinet nod
After a year-long turf war with the HRD Ministry, the Health Ministry on Friday sent the National Commission for Human Resources for Health (NCHRH) Bill 2011 — aimed to create an overarching body to regulate medical education — to the Cabinet for its approval.
Once cleared, the Ministry plans to introduce the Bill in the current session of Parliament which would pave the way for setting up a super medical authority by scrapping all other regulatory medical bodies.
For almost a year, the proposed Bill had been the bone of contention between the Health and HRD Ministries with the latter seeking control over medical education institutions through its own National Commission for Higher Education and Research (NCHER) Bill.
However, the Health Ministry opposed it saying that the “spirit behind the agreement had not been reflected” in it. Instead, it drafted its own NCHRH Bill and approached the Cabinet.
“Following the intervention of the PMO, the two draft Bills have been vetted by the Law Ministry. Most of the contentious issues have been resolved. For instance, medical education institutions will remain under the Health Ministry while there will be representatives from Health and HRD Ministries in the proposed NCHER Bill,” sources told The Pioneer.
They also said that as per agreement, the HRD Ministry will have participation in the research areas in the medical education bodies.
The Health Ministry through the Bill proposes to set up NCHRH as an ‘overarching regulatory body’ for the health sector to reform the current regulatory framework and enhance the supply of skilled personnel.
The Bill aims to merge existing regulatory bodies such as the MCI, Dental Council of India, Pharmacy Council of India, Nursing Council of India and councils under the Department of AYUSH into a single body.
The Ministry is hopeful that the proposed Bill will be discussed by the Cabinet next week and sent to Parliament for its early passage.
After a year-long turf war with the HRD Ministry, the Health Ministry on Friday sent the National Commission for Human Resources for Health (NCHRH) Bill 2011 — aimed to create an overarching body to regulate medical education — to the Cabinet for its approval.
Once cleared, the Ministry plans to introduce the Bill in the current session of Parliament which would pave the way for setting up a super medical authority by scrapping all other regulatory medical bodies.
For almost a year, the proposed Bill had been the bone of contention between the Health and HRD Ministries with the latter seeking control over medical education institutions through its own National Commission for Higher Education and Research (NCHER) Bill.
However, the Health Ministry opposed it saying that the “spirit behind the agreement had not been reflected” in it. Instead, it drafted its own NCHRH Bill and approached the Cabinet.
“Following the intervention of the PMO, the two draft Bills have been vetted by the Law Ministry. Most of the contentious issues have been resolved. For instance, medical education institutions will remain under the Health Ministry while there will be representatives from Health and HRD Ministries in the proposed NCHER Bill,” sources told The Pioneer.
They also said that as per agreement, the HRD Ministry will have participation in the research areas in the medical education bodies.
The Health Ministry through the Bill proposes to set up NCHRH as an ‘overarching regulatory body’ for the health sector to reform the current regulatory framework and enhance the supply of skilled personnel.
The Bill aims to merge existing regulatory bodies such as the MCI, Dental Council of India, Pharmacy Council of India, Nursing Council of India and councils under the Department of AYUSH into a single body.
The Ministry is hopeful that the proposed Bill will be discussed by the Cabinet next week and sent to Parliament for its early passage.
