Article Today, Hyderabad: A scathing report by The Lancet, a globally respected medical journal, has accused India’s National Medical Commission (NMC) of institutional corruption and systemic failure. Published on 19th July, 2025 the report warns that unchecked malpractice within the NMC threatens the future of Indian medical education and the quality of healthcare. It calls the NMC a breeding ground for bribery and bureaucratic decay.
CBI Crackdown Reveals Widespread Irregularities
The issue exploded into public view on 30th June, when the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered criminal cases against 34 individuals. Among the accused are officials from the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, NMC inspectors, and members linked to Shri Rawatpura Medical College in Chattisgarh. CBI raids across 40 locations in five states unearthed serious irregularities in college inspections. Officials were caught red-handed accepting bribes amounting to Rs.55 lakh in exchange for granting approvals to the college. According to The Lancet, this is just the tip of the iceberg, indicating a much deeper rot in the system.
Leaked Inspections and Ghost Faculty Scams
The report highlights that sensitive information such as inspection schedules and team details were leaked to private colleges through middlemen. These leaks allowed colleges to fabricate inspection setups, often showing fake patients and “ghost faculty”—nonexistent teachers on paper. The Lancet cites the CBI’s FIR to show how colleges manipulated reports by staging compliance. A similar leak was exposed earlier in Telangana, involving Mahaveer Medical College in Vikarabad , Which was published in Article Today https://articletoday.in/ mahaveer-medical-college-fake-patients-ghost-faculty/ Digital Paper.
In the Last Month the management of Mahavir Medical College was prepared after receiving prior information
NMC Fails to Lead with Vision
According to the Lancet, the NMC lacks a clear action plan and is crippled by excessive centralisation and bureaucratic inefficiency. While the NMC has promised to take the corruption cases seriously, its actions remain superficial. On 14th July, it announced the blacklisting of only four assessors and cancellation of seats in six colleges for 2025–26. The journal criticises this as mere damage control, not a solution.
Rapid Expansion without Infrastructure
To address the doctor shortage—currently one doctor for every 1,263 people in India compared to WHO’s standard of 1:1000—the government has launched a plan to add 75,000 MBBS seats in five years. However, the Lancet argues that this drive has led to rushed approvals for new colleges and expansion of existing ones without proper oversight. To facilitate this, NMC relaxed faculty recruitment norms. The journal warns that this short-sighted expansion mirrors the old discredited Medical Council of India (MCI), which NMC replaced.
Quality Compromised in the Name of Quantity
The Lancet concludes that focusing solely on increasing seat numbers undermines the very foundation of medical education. If quality is sacrificed for quantity, the country may end up producing underqualified doctors, putting public health at grave risk. The report urges immediate structural reforms to restore credibility, transparency, and excellence in India’s medical education system.
