Page 73 - Dental Practice South Asia 18-6

Government to introduce National Dental Commission Bill, 2022
in Winter Session of Parliament

The government will table the tion. Two to three years back, they (Centre) faith in it and did not table it in Parliament as it
National Dental Commission Bill, introduced the NMC in the same way. Dental would not eradicate the wrongs. Though the Bill
2022 in the upcoming Winter ses- education needs better guidelines from the gov- was listed to be tabled in the last three sessions of
sion of the Parliament. The Bill ernment and a better carrier for the students,” he the Parliament, it wasn’t.”
seeks to set up a National Dental added. “Today, nobody seems willing to join Dr Anil Kumar Chandna, a member of the
Commission and repeal the dentistry because there are not enough jobs executive committee of the Dental Council of
Dentists Act, 1948. available. People are working for Rs 10,000- Rs India, pointed out that DCI is a democratic body
According to Dr Mahesh 20,000 after spending so much money (on den- while the proposed NDC is not, and the Bill
Verma, Vice-Chancellor Guru tal education) and they are not getting any jobs needs further rectification and clarity before
Gobind Singh Indraprastha after passing out. It is disheartening to see after being introduced in Parliament.
University, New Delhi, “It is 75 years of independence, this country still can’t “Instead of rectifying the Dentist Act 1948,
important to bring this particular provide good career opportunities in dentistry. the government is trying to bring NDC with
NDC Bill in Parliament. The role This despite the fact that 95 per cent of our pop- nothing more to say about NMC. You can read
of NDC will be something very ulation do suffer from dental issues,” he further the recent HC judgment in the case of
similar to what is being done cur- said. Dhanalaxmi medical college V/S NMC. The DCI
rently by the Dental Council of However, Dr JM Jeyaraj, MDS, consultant is a Democratic body whereas NDC is not. The
India.” “About two-and-a half- orthodontist from Coimbatore, said, “After get- NDC still needs rectification and more clarity,”
years back, the government ting the NDC Bill ready, the government lost he added.
restructured the Medical Council
of India (MCI) into National
Medical Commission (NMC). So,
on similar lines, the Dental
Commission of India (DCI) will be
restructured into National Dental
Commission (NDC),” he said.
“There are representations of
the state government, state univer-
sities and as state councils by rota-
tion. This is to ensure that at any
given point of time, there is a small
body which can work cohesively
rather than a huge one. Currently,
in the Dental Council of India,
every state has a state nominee and
so does state councils and universi-
ties. These nominees apart, there is
also a nominee of the central gov-
ernor,” Dr. Verma said.
“The intent behind the NDC is
to be effective, efficient and take
quick decisions,” he added.
According to a leading dentist,
who asked not to be named, the
Bill is a ‘great move’ by the Union
government.
“It has been pending for long
because of one reason or the other.
Though the dental profession is
not the first priority for the gov-
ernment, the need of the hour is to
improve dental education and the
quality of dental care for the com-
mon man. The coming of the NDC
will be a huge step in that direc-

Dental Practice // November-December 2022 // Vol 18 No 6 73