New medical colleges may no longer need state approval under NMC draft

The National Medical Commission (NMC) has proposed a draft that removes the need for an essentiality certificate and no-objection certificate (NOC) from state governments to establish new medical colleges.

Under the draft, institutions need only a valid Consent of Affiliation (CoA) from a recognised university and approval from the NMC.

The draft deletes Clauses 9(a) and 9(c) of the existing regulations and revises Clause 9(b) to require a valid CoA.

New infrastructure norms require all buildings to be complete before application; temporary or under-construction facilities are not permitted.

A dedicated corpus fund must be established by new colleges, with the amount set by the Medical Assessment and Rating Board (MARB).