National Medical Commission proposes single licence for doctors to practise across India
The National Medical Commission (NMC) has proposed draft amendments to the Registration of Medical Practitioners and Licence to Practise Medicine Regulations, introducing a "One Nation, One Licence" framework for doctors
Under the proposal, once a State Medical Council grants initial registration, the NMC's Ethics and Medical Registration Board (EMRB) will allot a Unique Identification (UID) Number linked to the National Medical Register
A doctor holding this UID will not need fresh registration or a separate licence to practise medicine in another State or Union Territory
The draft also proposes electronic synchronisation between the National Medical Register and State Medical Registers, so that any update (including disciplinary action) in one register is automatically reflected in the other, enabling disciplinary records to be tracked nationally rather than only within the state where an incident occurred
National Medical Commission Act, 2019
The National Medical Commission Act, 2019 replaced the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956 and dissolved the scandal-hit Medical Council of India (MCI), establishing the NMC as India's apex regulator for medical education and practice. The NMC operates through four Autonomous Boards, one of which — the Ethics and Medical Registration Board (EMRB) — is directly responsible for the proposal in this news.
Key Details
- The NMC Act, 2019 came into force in September 2020, replacing the MCI (established 1934, reconstituted under the 1956 Act)
- The four Autonomous Boards under the NMC are: Under-Graduate Medical Education Board, Post-Graduate Medical Education Board, Medical Assessment and Rating Board, and the Ethics and Medical Registration Board (EMRB)
- Each Autonomous Board is headed by a President with whole-time and part-time Members; the EMRB's composition includes a member with expertise in medical ethics, public health, or law, and one member elected from a State Medical Council
- Section 27 of the NMC Act, 2019 lays down the EMRB's powers and functions, including maintaining the national register and regulating professional conduct
The "One Nation, One Licence" proposal is being implemented through the EMRB's statutory mandate — the Board that already maintains the National Medical Register and previously in 2024 began enrolling doctors on it is now the body empowered to issue the interstate-valid UID.
National Medical Register (Section 31, NMC Act 2019)
Section 31 of the NMC Act, 2019 requires the EMRB to maintain a National Register in electronic form containing the name, address, and recognised qualifications of every licensed medical practitioner in India. This centralises what was previously fragmented across separate State Medical Registers maintained independently by each State Medical Council (SMC).
Key Details
- Before this system, a doctor moving to practise in another state typically needed fresh or additional registration with that state's SMC — since medical registration was historically administered at the state level under the 1956 Act framework
- The National Medical Register (NMR) assigns each practitioner a UID valid for practice anywhere in India, once state-level registration and NMR entry are complete
- The NMC began the process of registering doctors on the NMR portal in 2024, with the UID rollout initially targeted for completion by end-2024; the current draft regulations extend and formalise the framework
- Electronic synchronisation between State Medical Registers and the National Register means disciplinary action recorded by any one SMC becomes visible nationally, addressing past concerns about doctors facing action in one state continuing to practise unchecked elsewhere
The NMC's proposal operationalises Section 31 fully — turning the National Register from a passive record into the single credential that confers practice rights across all States and UTs.
Federalism in Health Regulation and Article 19(1)(g)
Public health and hospitals fall under Entry 6 of the State List (Seventh Schedule), while medical education falls under a Concurrent List entry, making the regulation of medical practice a shared Centre-State domain. State Medical Councils remain the first point of registration under this scheme, preserving a state role, while the NMC's national UID layer addresses the citizen's Article 19(1)(g) right to practise any profession — including medicine — anywhere in Indian territory, subject to reasonable restrictions such as qualification and licensing requirements.
Key Details
- Article 19(1)(g) guarantees all citizens the right to practise any profession or carry on any occupation, trade, or business, subject to reasonable restrictions under Article 19(6) (such as requiring a valid medical qualification and registration)
- Entry 6, State List: "Public health and sanitation; hospitals and dispensaries" — a state subject
- Entry 25, Concurrent List: "Education, including... medical... education" — enables Union-level regulatory architecture like the NMC Act
- Some commentary has flagged that fully synchronising state registers into a national one risks diluting State Medical Councils' functional autonomy over local registration and disciplinary processes
The single-licence proposal removes a practical barrier to interstate mobility of doctors (consistent with Article 19(1)(g)) but does so by increasing the Centre's (NMC's) role relative to State Medical Councils — a live federalism trade-off in health governance.
- Governing statute: National Medical Commission Act, 2019 (replaced Indian Medical Council Act, 1956)
- Body issuing the UID: Ethics and Medical Registration Board (EMRB), one of four NMC Autonomous Boards
- Legal basis for the National Register: Section 31, NMC Act, 2019
- Effect of UID: no fresh registration/licence needed to practise in another State or UT once NMR-registered
- Registration sequence: State Medical Council registration first → EMRB allots UID linked to National Medical Register
- Constitutional basis: Article 19(1)(g) (freedom to practise profession); public health is Entry 6, State List; medical education is a Concurrent List subject