Amid protests from Indian Medical Association and Medicos, the government has enacted the National Medical Commission Act, 2019. It repealed the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956. The main objectives of the Act are accessibility of services of medical professionals to all the citizens, access to quality and affordable medical education, ensure the availability of high-quality medical professionals in all parts of India, emphasis on research by medical professionals, and accountability of medical institutions. The Act also provides for an effective grievance redressal mechanism.

The act provides for the establishment of a twenty-five member National Medical Commission with more powers and function than its earlier counterpart Medical Council of India. The key responsibilities of the Commission are to develop and regulate all aspects of medical education, profession, and institutions.

The Act made provision for a new set of medical professionals called Community Health Providers. The Community Health Provider may prescribe specified medicine independently, only in primary and preventive healthcare, but in cases other than primary and preventive healthcare, he may prescribe medicine only under the supervision of registered medical practitioners.  The concept of community health providers has attracted severe criticism from the medical fraternity and they have claimed it as law legalizing quackery.

The act provides for the establishment of Ethics and Medical Registration Board to regulate and promote professional conduct and medical ethics and also maintain national registers of licensed medical practitioners and Community Health Providers (CHPs).

The National Medical Commission is entrusted with the power of conducting a uniform National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test for admission to the undergraduate and postgraduate super-specialty medical education. The key highlight is the common final year undergraduate medical examination, to be known as the National Exit Test and it will be the criteria for granting license to practice medicine for Medical Practitioners in India.

No person shall establish a new medical college or start any postgraduate course or increase the number of seats without obtaining prior permission of the Medical Assessment and Rating Board established under this Act. Earlier this responsibility was also entrusted with the Medical Council of India.

The act allows foreign citizen who is enrolled in his country as a medical practitioner in accordance with the law regulating the registration of medical practitioners in that country may be permitted temporary registration in India for such period and in such manner as may be specified by the regulations.

The medical fraternity is skeptical about the new enactment. Their main contention against the Act is there is scope of ambiguity, confusion, and room for corruption created by the new Act. The decentralization of powers and functions performed by the earlier council to the four autonomous boards under the supervision of the National Medical Commission is with an objective to cut short corruption.