Minimum Requirements for Annual MBBS Admissions Regulations notified by National Medical Commission

In a significant step towards affordable medical education, the National Medical Commission (NMC) has notified the Minimum Requirements for Annual MBBS Admissions Regulations (2020). The notification replaces the “Minimum Standard Requirements for Medical Colleges, 1999 of the erstwhile Medical Council of India (MCI). According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the new Regulation will be applicable to all new medical colleges proposed to be established, and to the established medical colleges proposing to increase their annual MBBS intake from the academic year 2021-22. During the transitory period, the established medical colleges will be governed by the relevant regulations existing prior to the current notification. The new standards allow optimization and flexibility
in utilizing available resources, and harnessing modern educational technology tools to facilitate moving towards quality education, even when resources are relatively scarce. The new Regulation has specified the quantum of land required for setting up a medical college and its affiliated teaching hospitals. Under the new Regulation, a well-equipped “Skills Laboratory” for training students is essential now. It also defines a Medical Education Unit for training medical teachers in educational pedagogy. The new regulation also mandates the availability of a fully functional 300 bed multi-speciality hospital for at least two years at the time of application for establishing a new medical college.