The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) has issued orders appointing Suresh Chandra Sharma, Professor and Head of ENT – Head and Neck Surgery at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), as Chairman of the National Medical Commission (NMC).

Health Ministry bureaucrat RK Vats, who has also been Medical Council of India (MCI) Secretary General, has been named Secretary General of NMC.

The much awaited appointments to the NMC were announced after the Appointments Committee of Cabinet chose the duo to head the sensitive posts. The appointments are for a period of three years, or until the officials turn 70, or until orders are issued to reverse the appointments, whichever is earlier, said a DoPT note.

The NMC has replaced the MCI, which was dissolved after countless allegations of corruption in medical education came up. These included bribery during medical college inspections and the regulator’s failure to contain allied issues.

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