Kovind signs ordinance to set up committee to run MCI until Parliament passes new bill

An ordinance seeking to replace the existing body running the Medical Council of India with a government and court-appointed committee has been signed by President Ram Nath Kovind, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Wednesday.

"In a Cabinet meeting today (Wednesday), a proposal was made to the President, which he has signed... its purpose is to replace the existing body and allow it to be run by a committee composed of eminent persons," Jaitley said.

A bill to replace the MCI with a National Medical Commission has already been presented in Parliament. A Parliamentary Standing Committee has also made its recommendations, but due to time factor the bill "has gone into an area of uncertainty", Jaitley said.

Pending Parliament's approval to the bill, the government has chosen to go for the ordinance since the term of the existing committee running the MCI is ending in November.