Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Monday in Lok Sabha introduced two important Bills --The National Nursing and Midwifery Commission Bill, 2023 and the National Dental Commission Bill 2023-- aimed to improve quality education in the paramedical and dental sector respectively.

According to official sources, the composition of the dental commission will be similar to that of the National Medical Commission, which had replaced the Medical Council of India (MCI).

The other Bill that seeks to set up a National Nursing and Midwifery Commission aims to replace the Indian Nursing Council Act, 1947. The Bill proposes a common entrance test, mandatory registration and a temporary licence for foreign nationals who are qualified nurses and midwives to practise in India.

Talking about the proposed NDC Bill, Dr OP Kharbanda, former professor and chief of Centre for Dental Education and Research, AIIMS Delhi and Pro Vice-Chancellor Health Ramaiah University, Bangalore termed it a good move. He hoped that it would “bring the required change in regulating the profession towards Quality of education and need-based research in Indian context.”

We hope the national policy on oral health also becomes a reality to optimize the oral health for the masses by making oral hygiene products free from taxes to make them affordable for the reach of the average Indian, he said.  Dr Kharbanda also called for creating more jobs for dental surgeons in the public health care system for the common man.

 The National Nursing and Midwifery Commission Bill, 2023 bill provides for regulation and maintenance of standards of education and services by nursing and midwifery professionals. It also has provisions for the assessment of institutions, maintenance of a national register, and state register and creation of a system to improve access, research and development, and adoption of the latest scientific advancement.

The National Nursing and Midwifery Commission will have three autonomous boards namely the Nursing and Midwifery Undergraduate and Postgraduate Education Board, the Nursing and Midwifery Assessment and Rating Board and the Nursing and Midwifery Ethics and Registration Board to examine various aspects of the sector.

The National Nursing and Midwifery Commission will frame policies and regulate standards for the governance of nursing and midwifery education and training and regulate nursing and midwifery institutions, researchers, professionals and associates. It will provide a uniform mechanism for admission into the nursing and midwifery institutions, as per the draft Bill.