The National Medical Commission (NMC) has announced its plan to evaluate and rate all medical colleges under its jurisdiction through an independent third-party agency. To facilitate this, it has released a draft framework outlining the criteria and parameters that will guide the accreditation process.
The draft, developed by the Medical Assessment and Rating Board (MARB) of the NMC, includes 11 broad criteria and 78 specific parameters. It has been made publicly available to invite feedback and suggestions from stakeholders.
This latest version follows an earlier draft prepared over a year ago, which was developed in collaboration with the Quality Council of India (QCI). In 2023, the NMC signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the QCI for the evaluation of medical colleges.
Compared to the 2023 version, the current draft has omitted certain indicators—such as stipends paid to interns and residents, and the proportion of full-time faculty members—that were previously considered. The number of total parameters has also been reduced from 92 to 78.
Additionally, under the category of research output and impact, earlier emphasis on publications in high-quartile journals has been removed. However, the revised framework still evaluates aspects like the number of research publications in indexed journals, citation counts, journal impact factors, funded research projects, and patents filed or granted.
“This is the first time that medical colleges will be rated using a defined set of criteria, with the goal of promoting accountability and high standards,” said Dr. B.N. Gangadhar, Chairman of the NMC. He emphasized that the current version is a draft, and the commission welcomes feedback and recommendations for additional criteria.
The MARB is the body responsible for inspecting and approving new medical colleges, sanctioning increases in MBBS, postgraduate, and super-speciality seats, and renewing permissions for existing institutions.
