Winter Session of Parliament: Bills to overhaul medical education, hike judges' salary to be tabled today

On the ninth day of the Winter Session of Parliament on Friday, the government will introduce a bill to overhaul India’s medical education in Lok Sabha, according to media reports. The National Medical Commission (NMC) Bill 2017 will replace the Indian Medical Council Act , 1956, in order to reform the regulation of medical education. The Indian Medical Association (IMA), which has been strongly opposing the draft  NMC Bill, had urged parliamentarians to protect the interests of the medical profession. According to the IMA’s national president KK Aggarwal, the draft NMC Bill which was approved by the Cabinet, would "cripple" the medical profession by making it completely answerable to the bureaucracy and non-medical administrators. [caption id=“attachment_4279627” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Parliament. PTI[/caption] “The medical profession is currently going through a very tough time. It is time that parliamentarians take note of this crisis and act accordingly,” he had said. He said the formation of the NMC would add to the woes of the medical sector as it would be a “regulator appointed by the administrators, under their direct control”. A number of other bills, primarily related to the business sector, are also expected to be tabled in Parliament. According to Hindustan Times, finance minister Arun Jaitley will push for the passage of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code bill which aims to prohibit willful defaulters or disqualified directors from submitting a resolution plan. The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (Amendment) Bill, The Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Amendment Bill,  The High Court and the Supreme Court Judges (Salaries and Conditions of Service) Amendment Bill, The Payment of Gratuity (Amendment) Bill, 2017 are the bills which will be taken up in Lok Sabha for consideration and passing, according to PRS Legislative Research. The High Court and the Supreme Court Judges (Salaries and Conditions of Service) Amendment Bill will hike the salaries of judges of the Supreme Court and the 24 high courts by over two folds, according to NDTV report. If the bill is cleared by Parliament, the Chief Justice of India will get a monthly salary of Rs 2.80 lakh, increased from the present Rs one lakh. Judges of the Supreme Court and chief justices of the high courts will draw a monthly salary of Rs 2.50 lakh from the current Rs 90,000, added the report. The Upper House of the Parliament will see the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Amendment) Bill, The State Banks (Repeal and Amendment) Bill and The Central Road Fund (Amendment) Bill for consideration and passing, said PRS Legislative Research. With inputs from PTI