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The World Federation of Medical Education (WFME) has granted “International Recognition” to the National Medical Commission (NMC) for a period of ten years.
NMC is tasked with ensuring quality medical education to promote affordability and access to the health care needs of future generations. (file photo)
A parliamentary panel found that the NMC, India’s statutory body governing medical education and institutions, underlines its responsibility towards international recognition, a uniform quality education system and strengthening evidence-based practices.
The World Federation of Medical Education (WFME) has granted “International Recognition” to the National Medical Commission (NMC) for a period of ten years.
The department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare, in a report tabled in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday, said the recognition has assigned an important role to the NMC in strengthening high-quality medical education in the country.
NMC is tasked with ensuring quality medical education to promote affordability and access to the health care needs of future generations.
The panel said that only a strong and modern medical education system with adequate investment on advanced physical infrastructure and skilled and trained faculty will guarantee better health care in the future.
“…International recognition of NMC is not the end of the role of NMC but the beginning of its responsibility towards strengthening uniform quality education system across the country with appropriate encouragement on evidence based practices with scientific and modern advancements, critical thinking to promote professional exploration, ethical integrity and social behavioral inclinations among medical practitioners,” it said in its report.
The Committee expressed dissatisfaction over the response of the Government to the Committee’s recommendation on budgetary support for research work.
It said expenditure by both the government and medical colleges on health research has remained stagnant in terms of percentage of GDP for the last few financial years and recommended that medical research and innovation needs a massive boost.
The panel said there is an urgent need to significantly increase government expenditure on health research infrastructure or provide incentives and an ecosystem to collaborate with leading private research firms.
For result-oriented and beneficial research, the Committee reiterated its recommendation that the government should formulate guidelines to decide on priority research areas based on the disease burden and focus areas of the country.
It says that for this, colleges can form a collegium of senior faculty and decide research priority. The panel said funding for such research should be provided partly by the institute and partly by government agencies like ICMR.
The committee also found that, given the large number of aspiring MBBS students and the limited number of seats for them in various colleges, a “large number of students” seek admission outside the country.
However, foreign medical graduates face “immense challenges” when passing licensing examinations and seeking permanent registration in different states.
The Foreign Medical Graduates Regulations, 2021, mandates a compulsory rotating medical internship of one year in medical teaching hospitals or large non-teaching hospitals as additional training.
Since, to some extent, foreign medical graduates are useful in maintaining the doctor-to-population ratio, therefore, the Committee reiterated its recommendation that the FMG Regulations 2021 should act as a facilitator, thereby streamlining the registration and internship processes while maintaining the quality assurance of the Indian health care system.
“To improve the doctor-to-population ratio and reduce dependence on foreign medical graduates, it would be appropriate for the government to encourage expansion of medical colleges in the country to accommodate the education of MBBS aspiring students in the country,” the panel said.
Reiterating its previous recommendation, the panel said the National Exit Test (NEXT) should be introduced to “establish a universal and standardized assessment of medical graduates with similar level of knowledge and skills and ultimately lead to quality medical education and training across the country”.
It said there was a paradigm shift in teaching methods, learning approach, critical assessment through NEXT MBBS courses.
The panel recommended that the reconstituted committee headed by members of NITI Aayog should submit its recommendations as per the pre-determined schedule.
“The Committee reiterates its recommendation that the Government should divide India into different regions and in each region prestigious institutions like AIIMS can act as advisory institutions to all other medical colleges in that region.
“Mentor institutions will play an important role in monitoring the standard of education and classes in newly established medical colleges or private medical colleges,” the report said.
(This story has not been edited by AyraNews24x7 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – PTI,
Click here to add AyraNews24x7 as your favorite news source on Google. December 13, 2025, 12:41 IST
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