NDC is yet to be established, while the body that regulates dental education may soon become headless | India News – Times of India

More than a year after the National Dental Commission Act was adopted in August 2023 and almost eight months after the rules for its implementation were announced in March 2024, the committee itself has yet to be constituted. The Dental Council of India (DCI) has written to the Ministry of Health asking for its intervention as the terms of the council’s president and vice president come to an end.
The letter to the health secretary dated November 13 pointed out that the DCI was still operating under the Dentists Act 1948 to regulate dental education in the country. The council governs 323 dental colleges with over 27,600 BDS seats and over 280 colleges with 7,000 postgraduate seats.
The current president of the DCI, Dr. Dibyendu Mazumder, will complete his five-year membership term on November 28 and that of the current Vice President, Dr. Satheesh Kumar Reddy, will end on December 10. Under existing law, the two will continue for an extended term of six months from the date their membership term expires.
The letter pointed out that “as per the guidelines of the Ministry vide letter dated December 26, 2023, the Council has been restrained from recruiting new members and accordingly a circular has been issued to all constituencies not to nominate/elect new members under section 3 of the Dental Act, 1948”.
“The DCI Executive Committee, chaired by the President, is the principal technical body that looks after the primary work of the council, which is to review proposals and applications from dental colleges and make appropriate recommendations to the central government. The DCI Regulations, 1956, confers several important administrative powers on the Chairman of the Council for the smooth functioning of the Council,” the letter said.
The letter stated that the DCI office would soon be headless after the end of the president’s term and that it would not be possible to run the office smoothly. It urged the Central Government to entrust the post of President to each DCI member until the committee is formed or issue necessary directions to ensure uninterrupted functioning of the DCI during the transition period.