President approves ordinance to dissolve MCI

NEW DELHI - President Pratibha Patil on Saturday signed an ordinance dissolving the Medical Council of India (MCI).

On Friday, Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry had issued an ordinance selecting dissolution of the MCI.

The MCI was set up by an Act of Parliament in 1956.

For the time being, the MCI will be replaced by a seven-member committee of medical experts.

The Centre decided to dissolve the MCI after its president Ketan Desai was arrested April 22 by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs two crore in exchange for giving recognition to a medical college in Punjab.

Desai submitted his resignation on Wednesday.

Union Health Secretary Sujatha Rao had said: “We are examining what can be done. The government should have power to give directions to the MCI for what it has to do. If they do something wrong, we can take action.”

Expressing its grave concern over corruption in medical bodies, the health ministry top brass made its mind to clean-up councils under its jurisdiction.

They also assured that they would not tolerate interests of students being affected.

The MCI was a statutory body that had been tasked with the responsibility of overseeing maintenance of to oversee the standards of medical education in India, grant recognition to edical degrees, give accreditation to medical colleges, registers medical practitioners and monitoring medical practice in the country. (ANI)