Medical Council of India dissolved; 7-member panel to take charge
15 May 2010
The government today announced the dissolution of the scandal-hit Medical Council of India (MCI) and the setting up of a seven-member board to replace the MCI, which stopped functioning as the body that regulates medical colleges in the country.
The President of India announced the decision after MCI chairman Ketan Desai, who was charged by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) of corruption, submitted his resignation.
Desai submitted his resignation letter to MCI vice-president P C Kesavankutty Nair on Wednesday. Nair forwarded the resignation letter to the union health ministry.
The health ministry has decided to set up a seven-member panel of doctors to replace the MCI. The panel is expected to include former director of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) P Venugopal.
The union cabinet had, on Thursday, approved an ordinance giving the health ministry higher control over the MCI.
Desai was arrested on 22 April over charges of corruption and subsequent investigations have firmly established that the body, which he represents, is "a den of corruption."