Pointing to the shortcomings in the National Medical Commission (NMC) Bill, recently introduced in the Lok Sabha, the state doctors' associations on Tuesday said the Bill in its draft state could lead to corruption.

"The draft NMC Bill addresses the needs of healthcare across India, but there are certain parts which leave the door wide open for corruption," B.S. Ajaikumar, state President of the Association of Healthcare Providers of India, told reporters here. The NMC Bill, introduced in the Lok Sabha on December 29, 2017 by Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda, aims to repeal the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956, and dissolve the Medical Council of India (MCI).

The Bill aims to regulate medical education in India. It has provision for granting permission to doctors under Indian systems of medicine, like Ayurveda, to be allowed to practice allopathy after clearing a bridge course. "An autonomous and independent body governing medical education is the need of the hour and for this, there needs to be minimum government involvement," added Ajaikumar. Allopathic education criteria should be looked at "realistically", meeting the requirements, he said.

The Bill, which has been termed "anti-people" and "anti-poor" by doctors' associations across the country, faced widespread protests from the medical community ever since it was tabled in Parliament. After protests across India, the Bill was referred to a Parliamentary standing committee for revision.

"A comprehensive NMC Bill will be instrumental in monitoring the quality of medical institutions and medical graduates, and in turn the quality of healthcare in the country," said the joint secretary of the Consortium of Accredited Healthcare Organisations V. Narendranath.