Karnataka to seek relaxation of MCI norms to set up medical colleges

MANGALORE: Minister for health and family welfare U T Khader at his scheduled meeting with Dr Harsh Vardhan, counterpart at the centre on October 7 will seek relaxation to a Medical Council of India norm that requires new medical college to have 20-acres of land. Khader is of the view that when MCI has permitted medical colleges in Bangalore to start functioning with 10 acres of land, this should be made applicable for rest of Karnataka as well.

Interacting with reporters here on Sunday, Khader said that as things stand now, MCI norm mandates promoters of medical colleges to have minimum of 20-acres land and a 300-bedded hospital. However, when MCI that issues license to start a medical college in Bangalore with half the prescribed land, this should be the norm for other medical colleges in the state as well, he said, adding this will help more medical colleges come up in Karnataka.

Khader said the other point on the meeting agenda is to seek a change in law that mandates a post-mortem be carried even in routine accident cases. Based on representations received from various quarters, Khader said it will be prudent to order a post-mortem only in medico-legal cases. "I will place this issue before Dr Harsh Vardhan at the meeting," Khader said, adding the centre could take a call on this issue after broad based consultations.

Acknowledging concerns in certain quarters about rise in prices of 108 drugs used to treat TB, AIDS, diabetes and heart ailments, following a government decision to decontrol their prices, Khader said he would take this up Dr Harsh Vardhan. In a circular issued before PM Narendra Modi's visit to US, government asked National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority, an autonomous body, to withdraw its May 2014 guidelines on drug price control.Karnataka to seek relaxation of MCI norms to set up medical colleges

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