Health Ministry bars MCI from taking major policy decisions

The Centre has directed Medical Council of India not to take any policy decisions or hold important meetings in the wake of an ordinance granting legality to its board of governors lapsing.
The May 21 Ordinance issued by the President to extend the term of MCI board of governors until November 10 lapsed after the Health Ministry failed to get it replaced with an act.
Under the rules, the ordinance lapses if Parliament does not pass the bill replacing the ordinance within six weeks of the first sitting since it was promulgated. The first sitting in the case of MCI ordinance was August 5 which was the first day of the Monsoon Session.

Though Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad introduced The Indian Medical Council (Amendment) Bill, 2013 in the Rajya Sabha, it could not be passed.
Following the expiry of the deadline of six weeks, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in a letter to the MCI, barred its board of governors from taking any policy decisions in respect of medical education and hold its meetings till further orders.
The Ministry will now re-promulgate the MCI BOG Ordinance and has moved the Union Cabinet in this regard, which may take up the new ordinance in its meeting tomorrow.

Though the MCI is functional till November 10 it technically has no legal authority in the absence of an effective ordinance to take any decisions.

The new Indian Medical Council (Amendment) Bill, 2013 seeks to empower the government to give directions to MCI on key policy matters and reducing the tenure of its president to four years.
The bill also allows only two such consecutive terms to the president. Earlier, the MCI president could have a five- year tenure and there was no limit on the number of terms.