By Shalini Bhardwaj

New Delhi [India], July 13 (ANI): The Union Cabinet has appointed Dr Abhijat Sheth as the new Chairperson of the National Medical Commission (NMC), replacing Dr Suresh Gangadhar, who stepped down due to health concerns.

Dr Sheth, a cardiothoracic surgeon with experience in India and the UK, emphasized his commitment to improving the quality of medical education, promoting good governance, and fostering teamwork to achieve governmental objectives.

Speaking to ANI, Dr Sheth said, 'My primary focus is to improve the quality of education, easing the excess and aiming towards the good governance and teamwork to meet the governmental objectives.'

Dr Gangadhar had submitted his resignation due to health issues. ''Dr Gangadhar, former chairperson, NMC, had submitted his resignation last October. As there was no suitable candidate available, his tenure was continued,' Official Sources said

Dr Sheth is also the President of the National Board of Examinations in Sciences (NBEMS). He will soon be joining as the chairperson of NMC, following a mutual discussion with Dr Gangadhar, the sources said.

Dr Gangadhar's tenure saw significant reforms, including grading of medical colleges, WFME accreditation, and streamlined processes, bringing more transparency and consistency in functioning of NMC, revised and more practical CBME, tweaking the qualifications criteria for faculty to make it more user friendly, focusing on faculty development for better outcomes, getting all medical colleges to embrace patient safety at undergraduate level.

He institutionalised the use of Aadhaar Enabled Biometric Attendance System (AEBAS) for real-time monitoring of faculty attendance, and he also advanced a shift towards competency-based undergraduate education.

The National Medical Commision (NMC) is India's premier regulatory body overseeing medical education and practice. Committed to upholding the highest standards in healthcare education, N M C ensures the delivery of quality medical education and training across the nation. (ANI)