National Medical Commission (NMC)

Every doctor in India starts the same way: a seat in a medical college, then a licence to practise. But who decides which colleges may open? Who checks that they teach well? And who removes a doctor from the register? Until 2020, one old council did all this. Today a new body does. It is the National Medical Commission, or NMC. And one big promise of that new body, a single exit exam, is still waiting.

1What Is the National Medical Commission?

• The National Medical Commission is India’s statutory regulator for medical education and the medical profession. Statutory means a law created it.
• That law is the National Medical Commission Act, 2019. The NMC itself was set up under it on 25 September 2020.
• It works under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
• Its job covers three things. It controls entry into medicine. It checks the quality of medical colleges. And it watches the conduct of doctors.
• So it is the gatekeeper. A person cannot become a doctor in India without passing through the NMC’s system.
• It keeps a national register of licensed doctors. If a name is not on that register, the person cannot legally practise medicine.

2Why Was the Medical Council of India Replaced?

• The Medical Council of India (MCI) had regulated medicine since 1934. That is a very long time for any one body.
• Over the years, critics said it had grown weak. They pointed to corruption and to many low-quality medical colleges that were allowed to open.
• When a regulator fails to stop bad colleges, patients suffer in the end. Poorly trained doctors treat real people.
• So Parliament decided to start afresh. The 2019 Act dissolved the MCI and created the NMC in its place.
• The lesson for exams is simple. Even a long-established body is not fixed forever. Parliament can replace it when it stops working.

3Who Sits on the NMC?

• The NMC has 33 members. They are one Chairperson, ten ex-officio members and 22 part-time members.
• Ex-officio members sit because they hold another office. They are not chosen afresh for the Commission.
• Part-time members bring outside expertise. They do not have to work for the Commission full-time.
• A mixed group means many voices in medicine get heard. Doctors, teachers and administrators all have a say.
• The present Chairperson is Dr Abhijat Sheth, a heart surgeon. He earlier led the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences, or NBEMS.
• The Union Cabinet appointed him. His term is four years or until he turns 70, whichever comes first.

4What Do the Four Autonomous Boards Do?

• The Act splits the NMC’s work into four autonomous boards. Each handles one stage, so none is overloaded.
• The Under-Graduate Medical Education Board sets standards for MBBS courses and colleges.
• The Post-Graduate Medical Education Board does the same for postgraduate training.
• The Medical Assessment and Rating Board inspects colleges and rates their quality. This is how a weak college can be caught early.
• The Ethics and Medical Registration Board keeps the register of doctors and handles ethics complaints.
• States also get a voice. The Medical Advisory Council lets them raise concerns with the Commission.

5How Does the NMC Keep Medical Fees in Check?

• Private medical colleges can charge very high fees. A talented student from a poor family may not afford them.
• So the Act steps in. Under Section 10(1)(i), the NMC sets fee guidelines for 50% of the seats in private medical colleges and deemed universities.
• Those seats must charge fees on par with a government college in the same state.
• In practice, half the seats stay affordable. A student who clears the entrance exam pays government-level fees, not market rates.
• The rule tries to make merit, not money, decide who can train as a doctor.

6What Is NExT, and Why Is It Delayed?

• NExT stands for the National Exit Test. It was meant to be one exam at the end of MBBS.
• Passing it would give two things at once. It would be the licence to practise, and it would decide the postgraduate seat. So it would replace both the final MBBS exam and NEET-PG.
• The idea was to cut repeated testing and to license all doctors by one common standard.
• NExT was meant to start from August 2025. But in late October 2025, the NMC deferred it by three to four years, to around 2028-29.
• It cited legal, infrastructure and technical challenges. A nationwide exam needs test centres, software and trained staff that work reliably for lakhs of students at the same time.
• In the meantime, it plans mock NExT exams to find problems early.
• Until NExT arrives, the older exams continue to run.

7What Changed in NEET-PG 2026?

• NEET-PG is the entrance exam for postgraduate medical seats. In 2026, its format was revised.
• The number of questions fell from 200 to 180. The paper runs in a single shift of 210 minutes, which is about 30 minutes more than before.
• The idea is simple. Fewer questions and more time test understanding, not speed.
• The paper now has five timed sections, with 36 questions in each.
• Candidates no longer pick an exam city. They choose three preferred states, and NBEMS allots the city within one of them.
• The exam was scheduled for 30 August 2026.

8What Should You Remember for Exams?

Must Know

• The NMC replaced the Medical Council of India under the NMC Act, 2019.
• It was set up on 25 September 2020.
• It has four autonomous boards.
• It works under the Health Ministry.

Good to Know

• The NMC has 33 members.
• It sets fees for 50% of seats in private colleges under Section 10(1)(i).
• NExT is the planned single exit exam for MBBS and PG entry.

Great to Know

• The NMC is a constitutional body (Trap).
• NExT is already running (Trap).
• The NMC regulates all health professions (Trap).
• Allied and healthcare professionals come under a separate commission, the NCAHP.