In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—

   (a)  “authority” means the district registering authority set-up under section 10;

   (b)  “certificate” means certificate of registration issued under section 30;

   (c)  “clinical establishment” means—

   (i)  a hospital, maternity home, nursing home, dispensary, clinic, sanatorium or an institution by whatever name called that offers services, facilities requiring diagnosis, treatment or care for illness, injury, deformity, abnormality or pregnancy in any recognised system of medicine established and administered or maintained by any person or body of persons, whether incorporated or not; or

   (ii)  a place established as an independent entity or part of an establishment referred to in sub-clause (i), in connection with the diagnosis or treatment of diseases where pathological, bacteriological, genetic, radiological, chemical, biological investigations or other diagnostic or investigative services with the aid of laboratory or other medical equipment, are usually carried on, established and administered or maintained by any person or body of persons, whether incorporated or not,

and shall include a clinical establishment owned, controlled or managed by—

   (a)  the Government or a department of the Government;

   (b)  a trust, whether public or private;

   (c)  a corporation (including a society) registered under a Central, Provincial or State Act, whether or not owned by the Government;

   (d)  a local authority; and

   (e)  a single doctor,

but does not include the clinical establishments owned, controlled or managed by the Armed Forces.

   Explanation.--For the purpose of this clause “Armed Forces” means the forces constituted under the Army Act, 1950 (46 of 1950) , the Air Force Act, 1950 (45 of 1950) and the Navy Act, 1957 (62 of 1957);

   (d)  “emergency medical condition” means a medical condition manifesting itself by acute symptoms of sufficient severity (including severe pain) of such a nature that the absence of immediate medical attention could reasonably be expected to result in—

   (i)  placing the health of the individual or, with respect to a pregnant women, the health of the woman or her unborn child, in serious jeopardy; or

   (ii)  serious impairment to bodily functions; or

   (iii)  serious dysfunction of any organ or part of a body;

   (e)  “National Council” means the National Council for clinical establishments established under section 3;

   (f)  “notification” means a notification published in the Official Gazette;

   (g)  “prescribed” means prescribed by rules made under this Act by the Central Government or, as the case may be, the State Government;

   (h)  “recognised system of medicine” means Allopathy, Yoga, Naturopathy, Ayurveda, Homoeopathy, Siddha and Unani System of medicines or any other system of medicine as may be recognised by the Central Government;

   (i)  “register” means the register maintained by the authority, State Government and the Central Government under sections 37, 38 and 39 respectively of this Act containing the number of clinical establishments registered;

   (j)  “registration” means to register under section 11 and the expression registration or registered shall be construed accordingly;

   (k)  “rules” means rules made under this Act;

   (l)  “Schedule” means the Schedule appended to this Act;

   (m)  “standards” means the conditions that the Central Government may prescribe under section 12, for the registration of clinical establishments;

   (n)  “State Government”, in relation to a Union territory, means the Administrator thereof appointed under article 239 of the Constitution; and

   (o)  “to stabilise (with its grammatical variations and cognate expressions)” means, with respect to an emergency medical condition specified in clause (d), to provide such medical treatment of the condition as may be necessary to assure, within reasonable medical probability, that no material deterioration of the condition is likely to result from or occur during the transfer of the individual from a clinical establishment.