New Delhi, July 1: After clearing the Lok Sabha, the Rajya Sabha on Thursday passed the National Medical Commission Bill, 2019. The bill seeks to repeal the Indian Medical Council Act 1956 with a National Medical Commission (NMC) to look over the functioning of medical education and practices in the country. The bill was cleared by Lower house of the parliament on Monday. IMA to Observe Nationwide Protest Today to Oppose 'anti-poor' Bills.

The bill was passed amid a walkout by All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK). Union Minister Harsh Vardhan during a debate on the bill said NEET is an institutionalised body which is conducting entrance exams in 13 languages. “Once the NMC Bill is approved, exit examination will be implemented in the next three years,” the Minister said.

The bill has a provision for making national standards in medical education uniform by proposing that the final year MBBS exam be treated as an entrance test for PG and a screening test for students who graduate in medicine from foreign countries.

This exam, called the National Exit Test (NEXT), would ensure that the proposed National Medical Commission (NMC) moves away from a system of repeated inspections of infrastructure and focuses on outcomes rather than processes, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said.

Earlier, the resident doctors in Delhi decided to observe a strike and withdraw all services, including that of the emergency department, on Thursday to protect the introduction of NMC Bill. Amid the heavy protest, Union Health Minister National Medical Commission Bill in a tweet said that he would take the bill for consideration and passage in Rajya Sabha.

Doctors at several government hospitals, including AIIMS, Safdarjung Hospital, LNJP Hospital, and RML Hospital boycotted the work and protested against the NMC Bill. They also threatened to strike for an indefinite period if the bill is passed in Rajya Sabha.

(With PTI Inputs)

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 01, 2019 06:17 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).